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THE  NEW  WORLD 


COPYRIGHT,  1920,  BY 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


PRINTED   IN  THE   tTNITED   STATES  OV   AUESICA 


/     0   V) 


DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  TOILER'S  TRUEST  FRIEND 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

MAY  HIS  COUNSEL  BE  WITH  US  TO-DAY 
AND   DURING  ALL   THE  DAYS  TO  COME 

Let  every  man  remember  that  to  violate  the  law 
is  to  trample  on  the  blood  of  his  father,  and  to  tear  the 
^  Charter  of  his  own  and  his  children's  liberty.  Let  rever- 
2  ence  for  the  laws  be  breathed  by  every  American  mother 
99  to  the  lisping  babe  that  prattles  on  her  lap.  Let  it  be 
^  taught  in  schools,  in  seminaries,  and  in  colleges.  Let  it 
Zj  be  written  in  primers,  spelling  books,  and  in  almanacs. 
CO  Let  it  be  preached  from  the  pulpit,  proclaimed  in  legis- 
^  lative  halls,  and  enforced  in  courts  of  justice.  And,  in 
short,  let  it  become  the  political  slogan  of  the  nation. 


346546 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 
VI. 

VII. 
VIII. 

IX. 
X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 


PAGE 

Problems  Facing  a  Stricken  World  ....  i 

The  Problem  of  Europe's  Poverty    ....  13 

The  Will  to  Work 27 

Unrest  before  the  War  was  an  Acorn,  To-day 

IT  IS  an  Oak 38 

A  Tragedy  of  Politics 54 

The  Word  Bolshevism    has    Seized    upon    the 

Imagination  of  the  World 67 

The  Test 79 

Russia's  Historical  Background — From  Rurik 

TO  Nicholas 90 

Russia  Out  of  Balance loi 

The  Beginning  of  the  Dictatorship — The  Birth 

OF  Bolshevism 118 

The  Soviet  Machine 132 

The  Soviet  Definition  of  Liberty     ....  148 

Clash  of  Fact  and  Theory 160 

The  Failure  of  THE  Socialization  of  Industry     ,  170 

The  Abuse  of  Power 183 

The  Third  International 192 

Intermeddling  in  Russia 215 

Bolshevism  in  the  United  States 224 

The  New  World 250 

Appendices: 

I.     Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  the  La- 
boring and  Exploited  People  .      .      .  269 
II.    A  Declaration  by  the  Representatives 
OF  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  Assembled 275 

III.  Constitution 281 

IV.  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of 

America 306 

V.    Platform  OF  Communist  International    .  333 
VI.    Manifesto    of    the    Communist    Inter- 
national    347 


THE  NEW  WORLD 

CHAPTER  I 

PROBLEMS   FACING   A  STRICKEN  WORLD 

Four  years  of  pagan  hell  left  Europe  stunned  and 
staggering.     The  world  had  gone  through  the   reddest 
and  blackest  night  in  all  the  biography  of  the  planet. 
With  the  signing  of  the  Armistice  the  people  tried  to 
shake  off  the  nightmare  and  grope  back  to  light.    To-day,         / 
twenty  months  after,  they  are  still  trudging  and  stum-       / 
bling,  paralyzed  and  benumbed.     The  problem  to-day  of       \ 
making  the  world  safe  for  civilization  is  more  serious      J 
than  was  the  question  of  making  it  safe  for  democracy 
nearly  six  years  ago.     If  there  was  cause  for  sacrifice 
then,  there  is  greater  reason  for  it  now.     If  there  was 
occasion  for  a  military  morale  then,  there  is  need  of  an 
industrial  morale  to-day.     Freedom  called  men  to  fight 
that  autocracy  might  not  rule  the  world.     The  present 
issue  is  not  only  freedom,  it  is  life — the  chance  to  eat,   v 
to  be  warm,  to  sleep.    A  tired,  wounded,  worn  and  weary 
people  face  the  to-morrows  with  little  faith  and  much        y' 
fear. 

I  went  to  Europe  to  see  for  myself.    I  was  unattached, 


2  THE  NEW  WORLD 

a  free  agent.  I  was  not  a  member  of  any  mission — I  had 
no  preconceived  opinions.  I  sought  facts — the  human 
facts.  I  looked  into  the  eyes  of  the  people,  walked  the 
streets,  talked  with  men,  women  and  children,  rich  and 
poor,  humble  and  powerful,  journalists,  bankers,  lawyers, 
preachers,  actors,  government  officials,  miners,  teamsters, 
factory  hands,  labor  leaders,  radicals,  conservatives,  chil- 
dren of  the  streets  and  women  at  their  washtubs,  farmers 
and  peasants,  tenants  and  landlords.  I  searched  official 
records  and  pursued  official  figures.  I  listened  to  opinions, 
heard  speeches,  listened  to  the  conversations  of  the  cafes 
and  the  talk  in  the  cheap  restaurants. 

I  knew  that  few  Americans  would  have  a  chance  to 
go  to  Europe  to  see  and  hear  for  themselves,  that  the 
millions  in  America  would  be  compelled  to  depend  upon 
the  eyes  and  ears  of  others  for  information  concerning 
the  problem  of  world  importance,  a  problem  which  is 
bound  to  involve  us — we  are  part  of  it.  No  country  is 
entirely  independent ;  nations  are  interdependent  to  the 
same  extent  and  for  the  same  reasons  as  individuals. 
Europe  looks  to  America  for  salvation  as  a  dying  man 
looks  to  God  for  mercy.  If  the  United  States  adopts 
the  policy  of  leaving  Europe  alone  on  the  theory  that 
we  have  done  enough  for  her,  Europe  will  be  plunged 
into  the  savagery  of  revolution.  Faith  in  America,  be- 
lief that  America  will  sustain  her  and  help  her  carry  the 
awful  load  is  keeping  Europe  from  succumbing.  This 
is  about  the  only  thing  she  has  left. 

What  is  America?  It  is  not  the  buildings  and  banks, 
the  railroads,  the  shops,  the  factories  and  the  land;  it  is 


PROBLEMS  FACING  A  STRICKEN  WORLD      3 

the  one  hundred  and  ten  million  people  of  whom  you 
are  one.  So,  Europe's  plea  is  addressed  to  you.  The 
prayers  of  her  hungry  children  are  petitions  to  you. 
America's  answer  will  come  from  the  people.  No  man 
or  woman  in  the  United  States  can  escape  the  responsi- 
bility. It  is  not  a  hypothetical  case ;  it  is  a  question  in- 
volving the  life  of  human  beings,  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  are  blood  of  our  blood,  part  of  the  great  world 
family — the  human  race.  Shall  we  close  down  our  shops, 
factories,  mills  and  mines,  bolt  the  doors  and  stop 
production  at  a  time  when  millions  of  human  beings  are 
crying  to  us  for  help?  Will  we  listen  to  the  thin  bony 
hands  of  children  knocking  at  our  doors  and,  safe  in  our 
comfortable  homes,  leave  them  to  die?  No  call  to  arms 
ever  had  so  much  back  of  it,  so  much  humanity  in  it  as 
the  call  to  work  has  to-day. 

The  house  of  Europe  has  been  on  fire.  It  has  been 
wrecked.  It  is  scarred  and  charred — almost  a  ruin.  The 
cupboards  are  empty,  the  people  demoralized  and  sick. 
Hunger  has  a  strangle  hold.  The  people  are  in  rags. 
They  must  rebuild  and  they  have  not  the  material  for 
rebuilding.  They  turn  to  us  ;  their  condition  is  their  plea, 
our  abundance  our  obligation. 

In  our  house  things  are  well.  We  have  been  saved  the 
devastation  of  war.  Our  acres  are  ample;  our  yield  has 
been  plentiful;  we  have  an  abundance  of  raw  material. 
Our  man  power  has  been  comparatively  slightly  touched 
by  the  war.  True,  we  gave  nearly  seventy  thousand  lives 
that  the  Prussians  might  not  pass ;  that  autocracy  might 
not  shackle  the  world.     It  was  our  best  blood.     Europe 


4  THE  NEW  WORLD 

gave  for  four  years  and  she  gave  of  her  youth  until  her 
man  power  was  practically  exhausted. 

We  cannot  sacrifice  Europe  without  being  injured.  If 
Europe  falls  America  will  totter.  The  storm  of  unrest 
that  rocks  Europe  will  shake  America.  We  must  work 
and  help. 

The  heart  of  labor  is  warm.  Its  sympathy  is  born  of 
suffering.  The  gospel  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  is  the 
message  labor  has  always  taught. 

If  I  could  picture  the  poverty  of  Europe,  the  wretched- 
ness of  her  hungry  children  and  women  and  men,  if  I 
could  only  make  people  see  what  I  have  seen  in  Europe, 
our  difficulties  would  indeed  seem  trivial  by  comparison 
with  their  sufferings.  Men  would  will  to  work  and  find 
joy  in  the  working.  What  greater  compensation  is  there 
than  working  to  feed  the  hungry,  to  clothe  the  ragged, 
to  comfort  the  lowly? 

If  the  heart  of  capital  is  stone  and  will  not  feel  the 
message  which  comes  over  the  seas,  labor  can  show 
that  its  heart  is  human  and  that  it  will  suffer  injustice, 
if  need  be,  a  little  longer  to  save  flesh  and  blood,  brother 
and  sister  toilers  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean.  It  is  a 
crime  against  God  and  man  to  stop  production  in  this 
hour.     Extravagance  is  a  crime ;  waste  is  immoral. 

I  did  not  stop  with  the  gathering  of  records  and  figures, 
for  while  figures  are  important,  they  do  not  often  dis- 
close the  fullness  of  truth.  Official  reports  and  statistics, 
granting  they  are  accurate,  are  at  best  only  photographic. 
The  photograph  records  with  mathematical  exactness  the 
exterior  of  things.     It  seldom  gets  to  the  heart  of  the 


PROBLEMS  FACING  A  STRICKEN  WORLD      5 

object.  The  photograph  is  the  still  picture — the  outline 
of  the  motionless  fact.  Impressions  are  more  like  an  oil 
painting.  They  show  the  human  touch.  They  reach  the 
heart  of  issues.  Back  of  the  daubs  of  paint  on  the  canvas 
are  the  throbs  of  a  heart.  The  film  is  only  sensitized. 
Man's  brain  is  sensitive.  The  photograph  reproduces  the 
image.    The  painting  catches  the  substance. 

In  reporting  the  things  I  saw  and  heard,  I  want  to 
give  both  photographs  and  paintings — facts  and  figures  as 
I  learned  them  and  the  impressions  I  gathered  from  the 
speech  and  life  of  Europe. 

In  the  June  of  1914  Europe  had  a  place  in  the  sunlight 
of  peace.  The  fields  were  filled  with  peasants  bending 
their  backs  to  toil.  Villagers  were  happy  in  the  common 
routine  of  their  simple  lives.  Factories,  mills,  mines  and 
shops  were  filled  with  workers.  Wheels  hummed.  Smoke 
streamed  from  chimneys.  Industry  was  singing.  In 
the  cities  trafiic  roared,  trains  rattled.  It  was  the  story 
of  a  busy  working  world. 

Problems  there  were,  of  course,  the  problems  normal 
to  the  growth  and  progress  of  the  world.  There  was 
some  unrest,  too,  but  children  scampered  to  school;  pa- 
tient women  sang  crooning  songs  to  their  babies.  Men 
carrying  dinner  buckets  whistled  on  their  way  to  work. 
There  were,  as  there  always  have  been,  shadows,  the  un- 
lighted  side  of  the  world  street — the  slums  and  the  tene- 
ments, but  men  and  women  were  planning  and  fighting 
the  black  ugliness,  and  every  one  had  faith  in  the  to- 
morrow.    We  were  making  headway;  the  world  was 


6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

growing  better.    Its  conscience  was  awakened.    It  was  a 
normal,  sane  old  world.    It  was  good  to  be  alive. 

Then  came  the  day,  the  day  that  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten, the  day  that  changed  the  world ;  the  day  of  four 
years  at  the  end  of  which  civilization  was  almost  hunch- 
backed. 

EUROPE  RISING  FROM   THE  WAR 

August  I,  1914,  was  the  day.  On  that  day  Germany 
declared  war  on  Russia.  The  fire  alarm  rang  round  the 
world.  Peasants  in  the  fields  straightened  their  backs, 
listened  and  looked  into  the  sun,  confused,  wondering. 
Flags  were  unfurled.  Bands  called  to  arms ;  faces  were 
white,  tense  and  serious.  Men  left  their  work  and  talked 
in  groups  on  the  street  corners ;  women  laid  aside  their 
tasks  and  whispered  their  fears ;  fright  lighted  their  eyes. 
Children  stopped  playing.  Something  had  happened. 
Evil  things  were  ahead. 

August  3  and  4  found  France  and  Great  Britain 
mobilizing  their  manhood.  The  torch  was  sweeping  Eu- 
rope— the  fire  of  death  had  started. 

For  four  long  years,  heart-sickening  years,  the  world 
ran  red.  ]\Ien  waded  through  mud  and  blood,  fought, 
suffered,  cursed  and  prayed,  while  back  home  in  the 
manless  houses  women  and  children  worked,  cried, 
prayed  and  waited.  The  world  was  mad.  Death  poisoned 
every  breath  the  people  breathed. 

It  is  over  now,  it  is  finished.  A  weak,  heartbroken 
Europe  is  again  sitting  in  the  light  of  peace,  but  threaten- 
ing clouds  are  in  the  sky.     Europe  is  in  black  rags ;  the 


PROBLEMS  FACING  A  STRICKEN  WORLD      7 

black  her  mourning,  the  rags  her  poverty.  Her  face  is 
furrowed,  trenches  made  by  suffering.  Her  eyes  are 
downcast  and  dead.  Hope  flutters  weakly  in  her  breast ; 
faith  has  almost  faded  from  her  soul ;  her  home  is  a 
house  of  darkness.  The  fire  on  the  hearth  has  turned 
to  cold  gray  ashes.  The  kettle  no  longer  sings;  it  sobs. 
Her  mind  is  weary,  her  body  wasted.  Hunger  has  robbed 
her  of  strength.  Her  feet  are  blue  from  cold.  Her  lips 
wear  privation's  pallor.  Ice  in  the  winter's  wind  lashes 
her  shivering  half-naked  body.  She  mumbles  as  she 
stares  vacantly  into  space — she  is  tired,  so  tired.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  a  face  so  troubled  and  sad  must  have 
never  known  a  smile. 

I  listened  to  her  mumblings ;  she  was  counting.  Over 
and  over  again  she  counted  on  her  thin,  tired,  worn 
hands — she  was  counting  her  dead. 

Her  eyes  looked  over  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
square  miles  of  the  war  zone  scarred  with  trenches, 
pitted  and  pock-marked  by  shells.  She  sees  where  they 
fell,  but  no  tears  are  in  her  eyes.  Long  ago  the  hurt 
reached  the  point  where  tears  dry  up.  Row  upon  row, 
line  upon  line,  mile  upon  mile  of  white  painted  wooden 
crosses  mark  their  graves.  For  the  greater  part  they 
were  her  youngest  born,  her  best  beloved  who  dug  deep 
in  the  soil  to  sleep  forever  in  dark  dugouts. 

As  they  fell  bleeding  from  steel  and  lead,  choking 
with  gas,  writhing  in  the  agony  of  liquid  fire,  they 
proved  in  the  dying  "word"  they  spoke  that  they  were 
mere  boys,  as  they  had  shown  in  their  fighting  that  they 
were  brave  strong  men.     To  the  poppies  they  entrusted 


8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

their  message,  and  the  red  poppies  remember  the  dying 
"word"  of  Europe's  martyred  sons,  they  who  went  out 
into  the  silence  with  this  last  word  on  their  lips, 
"Mother." 

Europe   has    finished    counting.      An    ache    shudders 
through  her  bent  body.     She  sighs  and  sobs:  "7,781,806 
of  my  sons  were  killed  in  battle." 
^\       Her  thoughts  turn  to  the  living,   her  arms  open  to 
receive  them.     She  holds  them  to  her  heart.    They  have 
returned,  but  how  ?    The  woe  of  it !     Some  with  sight- 
less eyes,  doomed  to  grope  through  the  world  in  a  never- 
ending  darkness,  a  night  without  stars  or  moon ;  sullen, 
black  hopeless  days,  young  men  in  the  very  morning 
of  their  day. 
Q         Others  sentenced  to  silence,  deaf  and  dumb.     Never 
A    again  will  she  hear  their  voices  nor  will  they  hear  hers. 
-«^        Still  others  in  wheel  chairs,  dwarfed,  legless. 

J        More  hobbling  on  crutches,  others  limping  on  canes. 
y^     Many  with  empty  sleeves.    Some  with  great  scars  where 
once  was  a  handsome  face. 

Despoiled  Europe,  she  sees  them  all,  the  twisted,  the 
mangled,  the  torn.  She  has  counted  them,  the  210,477,- 
541,  the  wounded  of  the  war. 

Doggedly  she  counts  on.  Seven  million  of  her  sons 
were  marked,  "Missing  and  Prisoners"  in  the  official  war 
books.  Many  of  these  have  come  back  to  her.  She 
does  not  question  them.  She  dare  not.  Their  faces  tell 
of  the  unspeakable  horrors  endured.  She  sees  in  their 
eyes  a  depth  of  pain  that  is  unfathomable.  She  is  a 
mother — she  understands. 


PROBLEMS  FACING  A  STRICKEN  WORLD      9 

The  war  is  over,  but  Europe  is  not  over  the  war.  Must 
she  never  stop  counting?  Is  there  no  end  to  her  losses? 
The  graveyards  are  crowded,  her  thoughts  turn  to  her 
civilian  dead  who,  while  they  did  not  die  in  the  war,  died 
because  of  the  war.  Those  who  went  out  in  battle  left 
life  in  a  burst  of  glory.  Others  there  were  who  fell  in 
their  tracks;  exhaustion,  broken  hearts,  war  privations 
were  the  causes.  She  has  not  forgotten  how  the  home 
flank  suffered.  The  stay-at-homes  were  not  all  slackers. 
Most  of  them  were  not  stay-at-homes  through  choice. 
They  fought  hunger  and  cold,  bent  their  backs  beyond 
the  straining  point ;  worst  of  all,  they  waited. 

It  is  estimated  that  nearly  15,000,000  civilians  died 
from  weakness,  fatigue,  strain,  overwork,  destroyed  re- 
sistance. These  for  the  most  part  were  the  underfed 
older  men  and  women,  the  scared  undernourished  chil- 
dren. No  need  for  wonder  that  Europe  has  the  death 
look  in  her  eyes.  For  four  years  with  their  months, 
weeks,  days,  hours,  minutes  and  seconds  death  has  been 
her  Nemesis. 

She  is  now  totaling  her  losses.  The  figures  are  appal- 
ling. They  stagger  imagination.  The  world  is  bewil- 
dered by  the  number.  It  is  stupendous,  too  horrible 
for  understanding. 

Over  6,000,000  of  the  wounded  are  human  wrecks. 
For  the  United  States  the  number  wounded,  192,483,  is 
equal  approximately  to  the  total  adult  male  population  of 
the  city  of  Baltimore. 

It  is  said  that  the  dead  of  the  war  marching  in  column 


10 


THE  NEW  WORLD 


Story 

OF  THE  Terrible  War  Cost 

Number 

Country 

Total 

mobilized 

forces 

Killed 

Wounded 

Prisoners 
or  missing 

I 

2 

3 

4 

Allies 
Russia 

12,000,000 
7,500,000 
7,500,000 
5,500,000 

707,343 
750,000 

4,272,521 
267,000 
230,000 
100,000 
50,000 
800,000 

1,700,000 
1,385,300 
692,065 
460,000 
322,000 
200,000 

67,813 

20,000 

15,000 

4,000 

3,000 

300 

4,950,000 
2,675,000 

2,037,325 

947,000 

28,000 

120,000 

192,483 
60,000 
40,000 
15,000 
10,000 
907 

2,500,000 

j^  France 

446,300 

•^  British  Empire 

Italy 

360,367 
1,393,000 

Serbia 

100,000 

Roumania 

80,000 

United  States 

Belgium 

14,363 
10,000 

Greece 

45,000 
200 

Portugal 

Montenegro 

7,000 
3 

Japan 

Total 

39,676,864 

4,869,478 

11,075,715 

4.956,233 

Central  Powers 
Germany 

11,000,000 

6,500,000 

1,600,000 

400,000 

1,611,104 
800,000 
300,000 
201,224 

3,683,143 

3,200,000 

570,000 

152,399 

772,522 

1,211,000 

130,000 

10,825 

Austria-Hungary  .... 
Turkey 

Bulgaria 

Total 

19,500,000 

2,912,328 

7,605,542 

2,124,347 

Grand  total 

59,176,864 

7,781,806 

18,681,257 

7,080,580 

four  abreast  would  require  ten  days  and  nights  to  pass 
a  given  point. 

Who  can  measure  this  loss? 

War  brought  death.  It  did  more,  it  stopped  births. 
In  the  devastated  regions  of  Belgium,  France,  Italy, 
Poland,  parts  of  Russia  and  the  Balkan  countries,  the 
birth  rate  fell.  In  England  and  Wales  the  birth  rate  in 
the  last  part  of  191 5  was  the  lowest  on  record.  Mallet 
calculated  that  the  birth  rate  had  fallen  twelve  per  cent 
in  England  and  Wales  by  1916.     In  1914  the  birth  rate 


PROBLEMS  FACING  A  STRICKEN  WORLD    ii 

in  England  and  Wales  was  879,096.  In  1918  it  had 
dropped  to  662,773.  To  put  it  another  way,  but  for  the 
war  the  births  in  the  United  Kingdom  from  May,  191 5, 
to  June,  1 91 8,  should  have  been  3,500,000,  instead  there 
were  only  2,950,000  births. 

In  Italy  the  number  of  births  in  1914  was  1,114,000. 
In  1 91 6  only  882,000.  In  France  594,000  births  were 
recorded  in  1914  and  only  252,000  in  191 5.  During  the 
three  years  of  the  war  it  was  officially  estimated  that 
births  in  Germany  had  decreased  forty  per  cent. 

The  Journal  of  Heredity  quotes  Savorganan  as  having 
estimated  that  it  will  take  England  at  least  ten  years, 
Germany  twelve  years,  Italy  thirty-eight  years  and 
France  sixty-eight  years  to  recover  their  populations.  In 
France,  I  was  advised  that  over  fifty  per  cent  of  the  men 
between  twenty  and  forty  years  were  listed  as  dead  or 
totally  incapacitated. 

The  human  waste  of  the  war  is  more  than  sad  memo- 
ries. The  loss  of  man  power  is  a  problem.  It  has 
thrown  out  of  balance  the  economic  and  domestic  scheme 
of  the  world.  Readjustment  will  take  the  greater  part 
of  the  century,  for  there  are  more  women  than  men.  In 
the  May,  1916,  issue  of  the  North  American  Review, 
William  A.  Rossiter  estimated  an  excess  of  approxim- 
ately 17,600,000  females.  This  calculation  was  based 
upon  the  assumption  at  that  date  of  an  early  termination 
of  hostilities.  Home  life  is  bound  to  suffer.  There  will 
be  fewer  marriages,  fewer  children.  Statistics  tell  only 
part  of  the  story. 

Europe  is  not  dying;  she  is  exhausted,  troubled,  con- 


12  THE  NEW  WORLD 

fused ;  she  is  trying  to  find  herself.  She  is  putting  all  of 
her  remaining  strength  into  the  effort.  The  task  before 
her  is  stupendous.  She  must  rebuild  her  house,  nurse 
her  wounded,  care  for  her  cripples.  She  has  counted 
her  losses,  inventoried  her  possessions. 

The  past  must  bury  its  dead.  To-morrow  is  for  the 
living.  To-day  Europe  is  planning  for  to-morrow.  To 
understand  her  work,  to  know  her  plans,  to  feel  her 
problem,  it  is  necessary  to  know  her  thoughts,  i 

Unrest  is  threatening  her.  Fear  is  keeping  her  from 
work.  It  is  causing  her  worry.  Fear  that  peace  will  not 
be  permanent — even  greater,  the  fear  that  irritation  and 
unrest  may  break  out  in  violence.  With  all  her  soul  she 
is  pleading  to  the  rich  and  powerful  to  become  as  little 
children  again,  her  children.  She  is  telling  them  that 
the  fate  of  the  family  is  at  stake,  that  they  must  make 
concessions  to  their  brothers.  She  is  trying  to  make 
them  understand  they  are  brothers.  Many  of  them  have 
forgotten  the  relationship.  When  she  urges  them  to  stop 
wrangling  and  quarreling,  she  is  pleading  for  their  com- 
mon good,  the  family  welfare.  She  is  warning  against 
justice  too  long  denied,  of  unrest  too  long  pent  up.  She 
is  translating  the  mutterings  of  the  discontented.  She 
knows  the  complaint  in  their  hearts.     She  sympathizes. 

This  was  Europe  as  I  saw  her  in  black  rags  arising 
from  the  war. 


\ 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY 

The  Armistice  ended  the  fighing.  The  signing  of  the 
peace  treaty  brought  peace,  but  neither  of  these  acts  re- 
stored devastated  Europe.  The  big  job  ahead  is  the 
work  of  reconstruction,  and  when  I  write  the  word  "re- 
construction" I  have  not  in  mind  the  mere  rebuilding 
of  the  war  devastated  areas  of  France,  Belgium,  Italy 
and  Poland.  Gigantic  and  important  as  this  task  is, 
necessary  as  it  is,  it  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  work  of 
reconstruction.  Thousands  of  square  miles  make  up  the 
war  zone,  the  ground  marched  over,  the  territory  under 
shell  fire.  Millions  of  acres  of  land  that  once  yielded 
food  in  response  to  the  touch  of  the  plow  have  for  four 
years  been  tilled  by  explosives. 

Cities  and  villages  are  jungles  of  twisted,  broken,  torn 
iron,  wood,  brick  and  stone.  I  have  walked  through 
many  of  these  villages  and  have  stood  stunned  by  the^ 
completeness  of  the  destruction.  The  streets  are  uneven, 
lumpy  masses  of  brick,  stone,  plaster,  glass,  aisles  of 
wreckage,  roofless  houses  with  walls  gutted  and  torn, 
disordered  piles  of  brick  and  building  material  are  jagged 
pinnacles,  masses  of  debris.  Had  I  not  known  of  the 
war  and  come  upon  one  of  these  unsightly  shapeless 

13 


14  THE  NEW  WORLD 

-  ruins  I  should  have  concluded  that  nature  had  entered 
into  a  mad  conspiracy,  combining  and  concentrating  all 
of  the  powers  of  a  cyclone,  a  tornado  and  an  earthquake, 
and  spilled  its  fury  on  these  mangled  dead  villages. 

Picture  the  refugees  returning  to  these  villages — com- 
ing back  home,  what  the  sight  must  have  meant  to  them. 
I  have  seen  some  of  them,  their  faces  gray  as  the  ruins, 
standing  in  the  midst  of  their  destroyed  homes.  I  have 
.watched  them  picking  their  way  over  piles  of  stone  and 

"  brick  through  great  openings  in  the  broken  walls,  and 
I  saw  in  their  eyes  homesickness,  a  hurt  of  heart  beyond 
the  power  of  words  to  describe.  Old  men  and  women 
and  little  bare-legged  children,  now  and  again  a  boy  with 
a  worn  soiled  uniform,  some  limping,  others  wearing  an 
empty  sleeve.  One  thought  surged  through  my  mind 
until  it  almost  sickened  me — War. 

^  The  land  of  the  war  zone  must  be  reclaimed.  These 
acres  are  needed  now  more  than  they  were  before  the 
war.  The  world's  food  supply  is  low.  Miles  of  trenches 
must  be  filled  up.  Trees  must  be  planted,  the  ground 
must  be  cleared  of  shells  and  barbed  wire;  villages  and 
cities  must  be  rebuilt.  The  mess  must  be  removed ; 
homes  must  be  restored.    It  is  a  big  job. 

One  great  misfortune  is  that  although  many  months 
have  come  and  gone  since  the  signing  of  the  Armistice 
no  general  comprehensive  plan  of  reconstruction  has  been 
started.  Here  and  there  small  sections  of  the  devas- 
tated regions  are  being  partly  reconstructed.  Temporary 
provision  is  being  made  for  the  homeless.  This  is  all 
well  and  good,  but  intelligent,  economical,  efficient  and 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   15 

speedy  reconstruction  demand  a  general  plan  and  an 
organization  equipped  to  speedily  and  completely  put  it 
over. 

The  doing  of  this  work  requires  vision  and  capacity 
for  doing  large  things  well.  If  the  physical  reconstruc- 
tion is  left  to  Europe,  the  work  will  not  be  finished  in 
fifty  years.  Here  is  a  chance  for  America.  We  have 
experience  in  doing  things  on  a  big  scale  and  Europe 
needs  this  experience  and  help.  The  physical  recon- 
struction of  Europe  must  be  done;  the  sooner  the  better. 
And  if  America  is  going  to  help,  why  not  now?  It  is 
estimated  that  it  will  cost  $I3,ooo,ooo,ock)  to  reconstruct 
the  North  of  France. 

The  reconstruction  of  the  devastated  area  is  after  all 
only  a  matter  of  plan,  time  and  money,  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  Europe  is  bankrupt  to-day,  the  money 
must  and  will  come.  The  clearing  up  of  the  wreckage 
and  the  rebuilding  is  a  minor  problem  compared  with  the 
other  great  and  more  important  question  of  reconstruc- 
tion, the  reconstruction  of  industry,  the  establishment  of 
normal  life. 

Money  is  a  gross  thing  when  compared  with  human 
life.  To  mention  Europe's  financial  losses  in  the  same 
breath  with  the  dead  and  wounded  seems  sordid  yet  we 
live  in  an  every-day  world  and  in  it  money  has  its  logical 
place.  The  economic  condition  of  the  world  directly 
affects  the  people.  It  determines  the  kind  of  lives  the 
people  live.  It  affects  happiness.  It  has  to  do  with  se- 
curity. The  war  cost  $197,000,000,000.  In  an  economic 
sense  every  dollar  spent  was  a  waste,  a  loss.    Europe's 


i6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

debt  and  her  poverty  are  making  new  and  difficult  prob- 
lems every  day. 

How  will  Europe  pay?  How  can  she  pay?  Where 
can  she  get  the  money?  These  questions  are  troubling 
the  wisest  and  most  optimistic  men. 

Europe  has  borrowed  until  her  interest  charge  to-day 
almost  equals  her  income.  I  heard  Lloyd  George  say 
that  England  faced  a  yearly  interest  charge  of  over 
£300,000,000.  Another  official  told  me  that  this  interest 
which  England  must  pay  this  year  is  nearly  £100,000,000 
larger  than  the  cost  of  administration  before  the  Boer 
war.  Only  the  other  day  her  interest  was  due  on  some 
loans  from  the  United  States  and  she  defaulted.  Our 
government  added  the  interest  to  the  principal  and  passed 
the  day  of  payment  on.  In  the  meantime  the  pound  is 
going  down  in  value,  as  is  the  franc,  the  mark  and  the 
lira.  When  a  country  buys,  and  imports,  the  buyer  na- 
tion must  pay.  Payment  must  be  in  gold  or  in  things  of 
value.  Europe  cannot  pay  in  gold,  and  her  disorganized 
life  and  her  shortage  of  everything  makes  it  impossible 
for  her  to  pay  in  exports.  Her  imports  are  increasing 
daily  and  her  credit  is  affected,  her  unpaid  bills  are  piling 
up  and  as  a  consequence  the  value  of  her  money  is  de- 
clining. Nations  are  not  unlike  individuals.  When  a 
man  continues  to  make  purchases  and  is  unable  to  pay, 
his  credit  suffers.  He  has  nothing  of  value  with  which 
to  pay  and  he  gives  his  note.  He  continues  to  buy  and 
gives  more  notes.  The  result  is  that  his  paper  is  worth 
less  and  less  until  it  has  only  the  value  of  the  paper. 
This  is  briefly  and  simply  the  story  of  the  exchange 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   17 

problem.  Europe's  money  is  paper,  whether  it  is  marks, 
crowns,  francs  or  kronen,  and  the  nations  of  Europe, 
needing  things  with  which  to  live,  continue  to  buy  where 
they  can  and  are  compelled  to  issue  more  paper  money, 
and  the  more  paper  money  issued  the  cheaper  the  paper 
money  becomes. 

When  I  was  on  the  continent  the  English  pound, 
normally  worth  $4.85,  could  be  bought  for  $4.14.  There- 
after it  went  steadily  down.  Before  the  war  Great  Brit- 
ain had  about  $20,000,000,000  invested  throughout  the 
world.  The  war  costs  compelled  her  to  dispose  of 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  these  investments,  leaving  her 
with  approximately  $5,000,000,000  in  outside  invest- 
ments. In  1919,  Great  Britain's  income  was  two  million 
pounds  less  per  day  than  its  expenditures.  The  govern- 
ment is  under  an  enormous  expense  to  support  the 
"penny  loaf,"  which  costs  it  about  one  million  pounds  a 
week.  Then  too  she  has  the  expense  of  maintaining 
large  armies  in  Ireland,  India  and  Egypt.  At  this  time 
her  internal  interest  amounts  to  over  thirty-seven  mil- 
lion pounds.  This  does  not  include  the  enormous  sums 
annually  due  abroad.  Before  the  war  her  interest  charge 
was  about  £24,500,000.  Great  Britain  faces  the  problem 
of  paying  interest  equal  to  £30  per  man  against  an  aver- 
age earning  capacity  of  £125  per  man.  When  the  Brit- 
ish ministers  balance  the  budget  they  are  juggling  fig- 
ures— ^they  are  causing  figures  to  lie. 

Great  Britain  continues  to  increase  the  value  of  her 
imports.  In  191 3  her  imports  amounted  to  about  $3,- 
000,000,000,  while  in  1918  they  had  increased  to  $9,000,- 


58  THE  NEW  WORLD 

000,000.  This  computation  in  dollars  is  based  on  a  rate 
of  exchange  of  $5  to  the  pound.  If  this  increase  in  im- 
ports promised  an  increase  in  production  it  would  indi- 
cate that  Great  Britain  was  recovering  and  would  soon 
be  able  to  increase  her  exports,  thus  paying  her  debts 
and  helping  to  restore  her  credit  and  increase  the  value 
of  the  pound.  Unfortunately  this  is  not  the  fact,  as 
shown  by  the  Board  of  Trade  figures  for  the  first  eleven 
months  of  1919.  These  figures  show  that  while  the 
increase  in  value  of  imports  has  multiplied,  yet  the  actual 
weight  of  the  imports  has  decreased ;  that  is,  while  in 
1913  for  a  similar  period  the  imports  were  roughly 
50,000,000  tons,  in  1919  they  were  only  about  35,000,000 
tons,  a  decrease  in  quantity  of  15,000,000  tons,  this 
decrease  largely  in  wood,  timber  and  mineral  ores,  which 
are  essential  to  rehabilitate  the  decay  and  destruction 
consequent  to  war  and  enable  the  manufacture  of  such 
articles  as  could  be  exported  to  a  large  extent. 

France  is  in  even  a  worse  plight.  The  banks  are  loaded 
with  government  paper.  She  has  made  no  provision 
by  taxation  to  pay  her  enormous  war  debt.  I  was  told 
that  any  effort  to  impose  a  tax  in  France  would  bring 
on  a  revolution.  It  is  said  that  her  debt  has  reached  the 
startling  figure  of  $640  for  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  the  nation.  When  I  left  Cherbourg  to  sail  for  America 
the  regulation  had  been  put  into  effect  prohibiting  any 
one  leaving  France  from  taking  money  with  him,  either 
metal  or  paper  money,  in  excess  of  1,000  francs,  and 
on  that  date  I  could  have  bought  almost  nine  francs  for 
an  American  dollar. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   19 

France  looks  to  the  receipt  of  the  indemnities  from 
Germany  to  save  her  from  bankruptcy  and  in  this  she 
faces  disappointment.  Few  people  in  Europe,  particu- 
larly economists,  have  ever  entertained  the  hope  that 
Germany  could  or  would  pay  the  huge  indemnities  fixed' 
by  the  Peace  Conference.  Germany's  economic  condi- 
tion precludes  any  such  possibility.  The  attitude  of  mind 
of  the  German  people  is  opposed  to  any  serious  effort  to 
comply  with  the  impossible  conditions  imposed  by  the 
Peace  Conference.  It  will  do  no  good  to  call  a  man  a 
German  sympathizer,  because  he  tells  the  truth  about  this 
matter.  Facts  are  facts  and  must  be  faced.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  Germany  is  not  worth  over  $50,000,000,000 
and  her  national  indebtedness  is  about  $55,000,000,000. 
Germany's  future  is  blighted  by  a  conflict  raging 
between  the  Prussian  militarists  who  have  not  given 
up  hope  of  reestablishing  the  old  order,  and  her  left 
wing  "Reds,"  who  have  caught  the  fever  of  Bolshevism 
and  are  bent  upon  ruining  Germany  in  the  name  of  the 
dictatorship  of  the  proletariat. 

Italy's  national  debt  is  staggering.  She  faces  an  in- 
creased cost  in  everything  she  needs  and  her  credit  is 
practically  gone.  The  cost  of  coal,  and  it  is  an  import- 
ant factor  in  production,  illustrates  Italy's  problem. 
Italy  formerly  imported  11,000,000  tons  of  coal,  costing 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  lira  a  ton  (four  to  five  dol- 
lars). With  her  present  depreciated  currency  each  ton 
costs  now  from  six  hundred  to  seven  hundred  lira.  Her 
depreciated  currency  affects  the  cost  of  every  commodity 


20  THE  NEW  WORLD 

she  needs  and  uses,  without  which  Italy  is  helpless  and 
her  industries  are  paralyzed. 

In  Czecho-Slovakia  I  found  a  new  nation  without 
any  gold  reserve.  The  government  closed  the  borders 
for  ten  days  and  commanded  the  people  to  bring  their 
paper  money  to  the  banks  where  stamps  were  put  on  the 
bills.  When  they  brought  their  money  they  were  given 
fifty  per  cent  of  it  back,  stamped,  and  receipts  for  the 
balance.  In  this  way  the  government  cut  down  the 
volume  of  its  paper  money  fifty  per  cent.  Even  after  this 
effort  to  preserve  some  value  in  the  kronen,  I  bought 
kronens  in  Prague  for  less  than  two  cents  apiece.  The 
industries  of  Czecho-Slovakia  were  working  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  per  cent  of  their  capacity.  Men  were  idle 
as  a  result  and  the  government  sought  to  prevent  general 
starvation  and  revolution,  I  mean  the  revolution  of  idle, 
hungry,  hopeless  men,  by  issuing  to  them  money  with 
which  to  live.  The  effect  of  this  is  demoralizing.  Idle 
men  living  from  a  government  gift  of  money  which  they 
had  not  earned  are  demoralized.  Such  a  plan  quickly 
takes  from  men  the  desire  to  work.  No  criticism  can  be 
attached  to  the  government,  because  it  was  the  only  thing 
it  could  do.  Czecho-Slovakia  was  without  credit.  It 
had  sought  raw  materials  on  time  in  almost  every  quar- 
ter, and  with  little  success.  The  gold  reserve  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  beet  sugar,  and  this  was  mortgaged  to  a 
syndicate  of  Holland-French  banks. 

In  Poland  every  kind  and  species  of  paper  money  is  in 
circulation.  The  new  Poland  is  made  up  of  land  which 
before  the  war  formed  parts  of  the  Russian,  Prussian 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   21 

and  Austro-Hungarian  empires.  The  frontiers  of  Po- 
land are  open.  The  Peace  Table  has  not  fixed  them. 
During  the  war  Russia,  Prussia  and  Austria  looted  Po- 
land. All  the  precious  metals  were  stolen,  including  sil- 
ver and  gold  plate.  Poland  is  practically  without  any 
gold  reserve.  Poland  was  stripped  of  everything  of  value 
and  use.  Poland's  vain  struggle  to  get  credit,  to  keep  her 
people  from  dying  by  the  millions  from  hunger  and  cold, 
is  pitiful. 

Austria  is  penniless,  poverty-stricken.  Vienna  is  a 
city  of  ghosts,  listless,  pepless  human  beings.  They  drag 
their  feet  after  them.  Their  heads  are  bent  on  their 
shoulders.  The  kronen  was  worth  a  cent  when  I  was 
there.  But  it  mattered  little,  for  there  is  practically 
nothing  to  buy.  Austria  in  her  extremity,  her  people 
starving,  petitioned  the  Peace  Table  for  the  privilege  of 
selling  her  art  treasures.  Her  plea  was  to  exchange 
them  for  bread  and  coal  and  her  necessity  uttered  the 
plea.  The  Peace  Table  refused  permission,  holding  that 
these  things  of  value  might  be  the  only  collateral  out  of 
which  the  Allies  could  collect  the  indemnity. 

Europe's  debt  is  her  crown  of  thorns,  her  dead  is  her 
cross ;  unrest  is  her  Calvary.  America  is  her  hope — her 
resurrection. 

PRODUCTION  THE  FIRST  NEED 

The  world  lives  by  two  kinds  of  work,  the  work  on 
the  soil  and  the  labor  spent  in  making  things.  In  this 
way  we  get  the  things  we  eat,  wear  and  use.  We  have 
eaten  up  our  surplus.    The  world's  reserve  is  gone.    We 


22  THE  NEW  WORLD 

are  literally  living  from  hand  to  mouth.  To  overcome 
the  food  shortage  we  must  put  every  inch  of  available 
ground  into  production.  Only  by  doing  this  can  we  live 
and  gradually  get  back  the  surplus  which  stood  as  a  pro- 
tection against  crop  failures. 

Production  is  not  automatic,  it  is  the  work  of  man. 
To  grow  things  men  must  plow  and  gather.  The  will  to 
work  is  our  greatest  need.  The  land  is  available.  God 
furnishes  the  sunshine  and  the  rain.  To  get  plows,  trac- 
tors and  farm  tools  we  must  go  to  the  industrial  arm  of 
life.  Here  again  is  the  call  for  men.  We  are  short  of 
man  power.  Men  were  killed  and  crippled  in  the  war. 
The  men  who  sun^ived  the  war  must  help  do  the  work 
that  would  have  been  done  by  those  who  did  not  come 
back.  In  their  present  frame  of  mind  they  do  not  will 
to  work,  at  least  under  the  old  conditions  obtaining  be- 
fore the  war.  It  is  necessary  to  furnish  them  with  an 
inducement  to  work.  There  was  little  inducement  for 
men  to  work  before  the  war.  The  discontented  are  not 
kicking  at  work.  Their  objection  goes  to  the  unfairness 
shown  in  distributing  the  result.  It  isn't  any  secret. 
They  are  shouting  it  from  the  housetops  of  Europe,  they 
demand  a  larger  share  of  the  things  they  produce,  or 
they  refuse  to  work.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  human 
nature  in  it,  too.  It  is  only  human  nature  to  think  of 
self.  There  isn't  anything  unnatural  in  the  working- 
man  looking  for  reward.  Willingness  to  work  is  largely 
based  on  the  thought  of  working  for  oneself. 

Five  things  are  necessary  to  start  and  keep  production 
going.    To  get  the  clothes,  coal  and  comforts  of  life,  to 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   23 

give  the  farmer  the  tools  he  needs  for  agricultural  pro- 
duction, so  that  we  may  eat;  to  provide  the  transporta- 
tion necessary  to  collection  and  distribution,  to  bring  the 
city  to  the  country  and  the  country  to  the  market  we 
must  do  five  essential  things. 

First,  we  must  have  plants,  and  I  use  the  word  in  the 
most  general  sense.  These  plants  must  be  equipped  with 
machinery  and  tools,  they  must  be  ready  for  work. 

Second,  a  plant  is  useless  and  stands  idle  unless  we 
provide  raw  material,  the  thing  furnished  by  nature  that 
man  and  machine  work  into  the  finished  product. 

Third,  we  must  have  coal.  Coal  runs  the  machine  and 
keeps  warm  the  home  of  the  man  who  runs  the  machine. 
The  helplessness  of  the  world  without  coal  is  brought 
home  to  me  while  I  am  writing  these  articles.  The  min- 
ers have  left  the  pit.  The  government,  through  the 
courts,  has  tried  to  force  them  back.  The  effort  is  a 
failure.  The  streets  are  dark  at  night.  The  houses  are 
cold.  Business  is  crying  out  against  necessary  restric- 
tions imposed  because  of  the  coal  shortage.  I  realize 
as  I  never  have  before  how  dependent  we  are  on  the 
men  who  pick  and  dig  the  coal.  All  of  the  intelligence 
and  culture,  the  courts,  the  gold,  are  but  symbols  of 
power.  When  the  coal  miners  folded  their  hands  and 
set  their  teeth  things  stopped. 

Fourth,  transportation  is  necessary  to  the  gathering, 
collecting  and  delivering  of  raw  material  and  the  distri- 
bution of  the  finished  product. 

Fifth,  and  last,  but  first  in  importance,  is  man  power. 
The  purpose  of  production  is  man.     He  is  master  at 


24  THE  NEW  WORLD 

every  stage,  in  every  department.  Without  him  produc- 
tion is  impossible.  Employers  who  proceed  on  the  theory 
that  men  could  not  live  without  their  business,  its  pay 
roll,  forget  the  first  and  greater  truth  that  there  would 
be  no  business  without  the  workers.  Man  cuts,  digs, 
gathers  and  hauls  the  raw  material.  He  hews  the  wood, 
builds  the  plant.  He  mines  the  ore,  he  makes  the  tools, 
the  machinery.  He  oils  it,  sets  it  in  motion.  He  runs  it. 
He  makes  the  furnace  and  the  boiler.  He  digs  and  shov- 
els the  coal  which  makes  the  power.  He  defies  the  heat 
of  the  furnace.  He  builds  the  locomotive  and  pulls  its 
throttle.  He  makes  the  freight  car  and  stands  in  the 
sleet  in  the  dangerous  railroad  yard  with  the  signal  of 
safety. 

Transportation  in  Europe  is  particularly  paralyzed. 
During  the  war  railroad  tracks  and  roadbeds  had  fallen 
to  pieces.  It  could  not  be  helped,  but  the  fact  that  it  was 
unavoidable  doesn't  alter  the  situation.  Roadbed  and 
rails  have  fallen  to  pieces.  There  is  a  terrible  shortage 
of  cars.  Everywhere  on  the  Continent  this  is  felt.  They 
have  less  than  a  third  of  the  rolling  stock  necessary  to 
meet  normal  requirements.  The  demand  for  transporta- 
tion facilities  will  necessarily  increase  during  the  period 
of  reconstruction.  I  have  seen  locomotives  sneezing, 
coughing,  expiring  every  few  miles.  Old,  broken-down 
engines,  the  kind  one  expects  to  find  in  a  museum.  I  was 
on  a  de  luxe  train,  a  diplomatic  express.  I  commented 
upon  the  condition  of  the  locomotive,  which  came  to  a 
full  stop  every  few  miles.    The  chief  of  the  train  looked 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  EUROPE'S  POVERTY   25 

at  me,  smiled  and  said:  "If  you  think  this  one  is  bad 
you  ought  to  see  some  of  the  others," 

The  war  disarranged  plants  and  factories.  The  de- 
mand was  for  munitions.  Equipment  efficient  for  peace 
production  gave  way  to  plant  construction  necessary  to 
manufacture  the  weapons  of  war.  Plants  were  com- 
mandeered. Machinery  was  torn  out,  new  machinery 
put  in.  A  complete  reconstruction  and  reorganization 
was  effected.  It  is  necessary  to  change  these  plants  back 
and  fit  them  for  the  production  needed.  It  is  expensive, 
it  takes  time,  it  retards  production. 

It  is  strange  that,  while  every  one  can  see  and  under- 
stand the  difficulties  and  delays  incident  to  reorganizing 
and  rearranging  machinery  and  plants,  many  people  can- 
not see  or  understand  the  problem  of  rearranging  men's 
lives,  who  for  four  years  have  been  living  abnormally. 
The  effect  of  the  war  upon  plants  and  equipment  is  con- 
ceded by  the  very  man  who  refused  to  see  any  effect  of 
the  war  on  the  men  who  were  in  it. 

During  the  war  women  answered  the  roll-call.  They 
left  their  homes  and  went  to  work.  There  is  hardly  any 
class  of  work  that  I  can  think  of  that  I  have  not  seen 
women  doing  in  Europe.  I  have  seen  them  loading 
boats,  shoveling  coal,  washing  windows,  driving  wagons, 
cleaning  streets,  conductors  on  trams.  Many  of  the 
women  who  went  into  the  industries  were  young  women. 
Now  that  the  war  is  over  and  the  men  have  come  back 
there  is  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the  men  that  the  women 
return  to  their  homes.  This  is  impossible  in  many  cases, 
for  these  women  have  grown  dependent  upon  their  jobs 


26  THE  NEW  WORLD 

for  their  living.  Some  employers  of  labor  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  situation.  They  pay  a  woman  less 
money  than  they  pay  a  man  for  the  same  work.  This 
makes  both  dissatisfied.  The  woman  has  the  sympathy 
of  the  working  man.  He  doesn't  want  her  to  compete 
with  him  to  the  extent  that  his  wages  will  be  lowered, 
neither  does  he  want  the  boss  to  discriminate  against  her. 

Women  have  come  into  the  world  of  work  to  stay. 
If  there  is  any  meaning  in  the  phrase  "class  conscious," 
they  are  living  examples  of  it.  They  are  more  outspoken 
about  their  demands  than  men.  They  sense  a  wrong  long 
before  a  man  can  see  it.  They  have  brought  their  intui- 
tion into  the  labor  world.  They  are  more  radical  than 
men,  and  they  stimulate  men  to  action.  They  have 
brought  to  the  labor  problem  a  new  and  interesting  angle. 
^  The  key  to  the  future  is  in  the  hands  of  these  men 
and  women.  Production  is  the  door  that  must  be  opened. 
Men  and  women  must  work,  or  winter  and  want  will 
make  a  No  Man's  Land  of  Europe  before  the  autumn 
of  1920. 

Children  crying  for  bread,  shivering  in  the  cold,  are 
praying  that  men  will  work  when  they  pray  to  God  for 
food  and  warmth.  Their  help  cries  are  smothered  by  a 
great  blanket — unrest.    Will  men  hear  them  ? 


CHAPTER  III 
THE   WILL   TO   WORK 

The  most  obvious  thing  in  Europe  is  the  changed  atti- 
tude of  the  people.  And  yet  there  are  many,  particu- 
larly in  the  conservative  employing  group,  who  refuse  to 
see;  there  are  none  so  blind  as  these.  While  they  close 
their  eyes  and  minds,  the  change  goes  on.  It  is  not  just 
rhetoric  to  write  that  new  forces  are  at  work.  Of  course 
one  cannot  see  the  forces  any  more  than  he  can  see  the 
grass  growing.  But  one  can  see  the  result;  it  is  possible 
to  measure  and  analyze  the  effects. 

Everywhere  I  have  heard  people  talking  about  a  "New 
Order."  Men  separated  by  hundreds  of  miles  were 
thinking  and  talking  the  same  ideas.  It  startled  me  to 
discover  that  the  speech  in  the  Slav  countries  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  same  theme,  and  largely  from  the  same 
point  of  view  I  had  heard  in  England  and  France.  I 
did  not  meet  any  one  who  was  able  to  give  me  a  clear, 
complete  meaning  of  the  phrase  "New  Order,"  but  I 
found  it  on  the  lips  of  alm.ost  every  one.  It  has  a  mean- 
ing and  time  will  furnish  a  plan.  The  people  are  look- 
ing ahead  waiting  for  something  to  happen,  expecting 
better  lives.  They  have  faith  that  this  New  Order  will 
come,  and  that  in  it  they  will  find  the  dreamed-of  free- 

27 


28  THE  NEW  WORLD 

dom.  The  people  seem  confident  that  some  vital  com- 
pensation must  and  will  come  out  of  the  siege  of  suffer- 
ing through  which  the  world  has  passed.  If  they  were 
not  so  earnest  and  yet  so  sane,  so  intent  and  still  so 
calm  about  it,  I  should  have  interpreted  their  speech  as 
fanaticism. 

A  meaningless  minority  of  reactionaries  scorn  all  talk 
of  a  New  Order.  They  are  the  backward-looking  men 
of  big  business,  the  stand-patters  in  politics.  They  are 
out  of  touch  with  the  times,  out  of  sympathy  with  the 
people.  They  think  the  world  is  the  little  circle  'in  which 
they  live.  They  are  the  barnacles  on  big  business.  They 
smugly  set  down  all  talk  of  "change"  as  Bolshevism. 
Fortunately  the  real  leaders  of  business  are  breaking 
away  from  this  past-tense  point  of  view.  The  progres- 
sive, humane  and  open-minded  business  men  see  and 
know  that  unrest  is  a  pressing  problem  and  that  it  must 
be  solved,  and  they  are  giving  heed  to  the  complaints  of 
the  workers ;  they  are  giving  thought  to  the  problem.  A 
former  narrow-mindedness  which  shut  out  the  point  of 
view  of  the  worker  and  ignored  it,  is  passing.  Some  of 
tlie  advocates  of  the  truth,  that  there  is  justice  back  of 
the  complaint  of  the  workers,  are  large  employers  of 
labor.  Instead  of  arguing  coercion  these  men  are  talking 
concession.  They  recognize  the  change  that  has  come 
over  the  people  and  they  want  to  meet  it,  not  with  force 
but  humanely  and  justly  and  with  understanding.  A 
New  Order  will  come.  The  dawn  of  the  new  day  has 
broken.  No  one  can  halt  time  and  keep  this  day  from 
being  realized.    The  one  question  bothering  the  minds  of 


THE  WILL  TO  WORK  29 

men  awake  to  the  change  is,  will  it  come  through  revolu- 
tion or  through  evolution?  The  greatest  friend  of  revo- 
lution is  the  stubborn  employer  who  refuses  to  admit  that 
a  new  day  has  come  to  the  world,  but  insists  things  must 
remain  as  they  have  been  and  relies  upon  the  use  of 
force  to  put  down  unrest.  He  is  unconscious  of  the  fact 
that  he  is  stimulating  and  aggravating  unrest.  He  sees 
the  "Red"  in  Bolshevism,  but  he  does  not  see  the  "yel- 
low" in  himself.  He  knows  that  work  alone  will  save  us, 
that  without  it  there  can  be  no  production ;  but  he  does 
not  realize  that  unrest  is  killing  the  will  to  work. 

We  live  by  work;  prosperity  and  production  are  syno- 
nyms. World  poverty  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
under  production — not  having  enough  of  the  things 
needed  for  the  world's  life.  Stripping  economics  of  all 
its  high-sounding  jargon,  the  naked  truth  is  that  the 
world  has  only  the  things  it  works  to  produce. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  a  few  facts  known  by 
everybody  which  tell  in  terms  of  meaning  a  simple  fund- 
amental truth  in  economics.  We  live  on  the  earth.  It  is 
land  and  water ;  in  the  ground  are  minerals.  The  land 
grows  crops,  and  we  need  the  minerals  that  are  in  the 
ground,  but  the  soil  will  not  grow  crops  nor  will  the 
ground  yield  minerals  without  man's  labor.  We  must 
live  and  we  must  have  food  and  all  the  fertile  soil  in  the 
world  means  nothing  until  it  is  cultivated  and  crops 
planted  and  harvested  by  the  work  of  man.  We  must 
have  clothing,  houses  in  which  to  live,  transportation  and 
the  thousand  and  one  other  things  which  make  up  the 
needs  of  the  world,  and  we  cannot  get  any  of  these  ex- 


30  THE  NEW  WORLD 

cept  through  work.  When  little  work  is  done  we  have  a 
shortage  of  everything.  There  is  not  enough  food  to  go 
around,  and  some  must  go  hungry,  others  must  starve. 
There  are  not  enough  clothes,  enough  coal,  and  many 
people  are  cold,  others  freeze,  some  are  ragged,  others 
are  naked.  Everything  by  which  we  live  is  the  result 
of  work.  Stop  work  and  you  stop  the  supply,  and  pov- 
erty and  misery  follow. 

To  understand  Europe's  condition  to-day  one  must 
stop  and  realize  that  the  war  interrupted  production. 
Nearly  60,000,000  men  answered  the  call  to  arms  and  for 
four  years  these  men  were  withdrawn  from  factories, 
farms,  mines  and  mills.  Their  labor  power  was  lost  to 
the  world.  If  60,000,000  men  went  on  a  strike  for  four 
years  the  world  would  understand  the  enormous  loss  of 
such  a  withdrawal  of  labor  from  industry  and  agricul- 
ture. Conceive  if  you  can  of  the  pile  of  manufactured 
goods  and  of  food  that  would  have  been  produced  by 
their  toil.  But  the  mobilizing  of  the  armies  of  the  world 
has  had  a  more  serious  effect  upon  production  than  such 
a  strike  would  have  had.  In  a  strike  men  merely  stop 
producing  and  the  world  is  compelled  to  adopt  every 
economy.  Most  important  is  the  fact  the  mobilized  men 
were  not  idle,  they  were  engaged  in  destruction.  From 
an  economic  point  of  view  the  war  was  a  strike,  plus. 

The  present  growing  illness  of  the  world  is  not  incur- 
able. There  is  a  remedy  and  it  can  be  written  in  a  sin- 
gle word.  The  prescription  is  "work."  Every  effort 
should  be  made  to  inspire  every  man  with  the  will  to 
work.    Force  and  intolerance  are  not  inspirational.   Men 


THE  WILL  TO  WORK  31 

cannot  be  made  to  work.  No  employer  should  contribute 
to  unrest  and  provoke  idleness  by  refusing  to  negotiate 
with  his  men,  and  into  the  negotiations  he  should  bring 
a  friendly  spirit,  a  sense  of  fairness,  an  open-mindedness, 
a  willingness  to  compromise.  Justice  should  be  the  ob- 
jective, and  to  reach  it,  it  is  necessary  for  the  employer 
and  worker  alike  to  dispassionately  examine  their  differ- 
ences. The  employer  who  meets  labor  with  the  thought 
in  his  mind  that  he  is  better  equipped  to  fight  than  labor 
is  because  he  has  a  surplus,  which  labor  has  not,  and 
can  eat  and  be  warm  while  the  workers  who  have  been 
living  from  hand  to  mouth  will  starve,  is  not  only  short- 
sighted, he  is,  without  knowing  it,  using  the  tactics  and 
methods  of  the  Bolsheviki.  He  had  better  get  the  idea 
out  of  his  head  that  men  can  be  starved  into  submission. 
There  was  a  day  when  this  was  true,  but  that  day  has 
passed  never  to  return.  The  man,  who  depends  upon  his 
ability  to  turn  a  key  in  the  factory  door  or  shut  down 
the  mine  and  go  off  on  a  vacation,  imposing  his  will  on 
his  workmen,  will  recall  that  the  late  autocrat  of  Pots- 
dam, now  of  Holland,  was  prevented  from  doing  this 
very  thing  to  the  world,  and  by  the  very  men  then  in 
khaki,  now  in  overalls,  who  are  his  workmen. 

One  thing  that  some  people  do  not  seem  to  realize  is 
that  the  men  who  fought  the  world's  fight  for  freedom 
are  the  same  men  who  are  now  complaining  that  they  are 
not  getting  a  square  deal.  These  men  and  their  complaint 
are  at  the  bottom  of  the  present  world  unrest.  Who  were 
the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  volunteers  and  con- 
scripted men  whose  numbers  ran  into  millions,  who  went 


32  THE  NEW  WORLD 

to  the  front  for  civilization?  They  are  the  farm  hands, 
the  clerks,  the  teamsters,  the  millworkers,  the  men  in  the 
factories  and  shops,  the  coal  miners,  the  men  who  oper- 
ate the  trains  and  swing  the  signal  lanterns  in  the  switch 
yards.    These  are  the  center  of  the  labor  problem. 

Mr.  Employer,  you  are  dealing  with  ex-soldiers.  Do 
not  forget  it.  They  fought  for  you,  for  all  of  us.  You 
would  not  have  your  business  to-day  if  it  had  not  been 
for  them,  and  when  you  think  of  the  bond  you  bought, 
remember  the  blood  they  gave. 

ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  WORLD  UNREST 

One  thought  is  arousing  Europe  from  the  stupor  of 
her  misery.  She  opens  her  eyes  in  wide  amazement  when 
noting  the  change  in  her  children.  It  is  puzzling  her, 
although  she  knows  what  they  have  gone  through,  how 
patiently  and  uncomplainingly  they  suffered.  When  she 
remembers  the  peace  of  the  years  before  the  war,  the 
sane  lives  they  lived,  and  then  recalls  the  four  years  in 
which  they  wallowed  in  wet,  foul  sewers  called  trenches, 
slept  in  tombs  on  the  edge  of  a  strip  of  hell  called  No 
Man's  Land,  breathed  the  smell  of  burning  flesh,  saw 
their  pals  "go  west,"  buried  their  dead,  grinned  at  pain, 
laughed  at  death;  it  is  not  strange  that  they  have 
changed.  Nerves  of  steel  could  not  stand  what  they  went 
through. 

The  men  have  put  on  mufti  again.  It  is  strange  to 
them.  The  quiet  streets  are  dull.  The  demobilized  sol- 
dier feels  the  let-down.  The  tenseness  over,  depression 
sets  in.     During  the  war  he  did  not  have  time  to  think 


THE  WILL  TO  WORK  33 

of  mucli  except  the  job  ahead  of  him.  Every  minute, 
every  move  was  Hfe  or  death.  Now  for  the  first  time 
he  realizes  what  he  has  gone  through,  wonders  why  he  is 
aHve.  Two  thoughts  possess  him ;  one,  the  memory  of 
every  minute  of  the  days  and  nights  of  the  war — the 
other,  what  is  ahead,  what  is  he  going  to  do  with  his  hfe! 
He  is  at  the  crossroads.  The  word  "job"  doesn't  mean 
much  to  him.  It  is  not  that  he  is  lazy,  but  he  has  to 
pinch  himself  to  realize  that  it  is  over  and  that  he  is  back 
from  the  war. 

Between  the  whizz  of  machine  bullets  and  the  shriek  of 
shrapnel  he  spent  his  time  thinking,  and  his  thoughts 
were  not  all  about  the  war.  He  never  got  used  to  the 
war,  but  he  learned  to  forget  it.  He  has  brought  more 
than  souvenirs  and  memories  from  his  experience.  He 
has  brought  home  thoughts,  ideas  and  ambitions  from 
the  trenches.  Many  a  night,  looking  over  No  Man's 
Land,  listening  to  the  "banshee"  of  the  war,  he  thought 
and  resolved  that  if  he  ever  came  back  he  wanted,  and 
would  have,  a  better  chance  in  this  queer  thing  called 
Life.  He  feels  that  he  has  paid  for  a  place.  And  he  has 
paid.  He  has  earned  the  right  to  a  decent  place  in  the 
world,  for  which  he  fought.  He  helped  save  the  world 
and  he  looks  to  that  world  to  save  him  from  a  meaning- 
less machine  existence.  If  it  fails  him  he  has  made  up 
his  mind  to  use  force.  He  is  wilhng  to  work,  wants  to 
work,  but  he  insists  on  being  part  of  his  work,  rather 
than  his  work  being  all  of  him.  He  sees,  feels  and  meas- 
ures things  from  an  intensely  human  angle.  He  feels 
his   humanness.      The   war   emphasized   the   value   and 


34  THE  NEW  WORLD 

meaning  of  the  human  being.    It  was  life  or  death.    He 
is  alive.    He  wants  a  human  interest  in  his  work. 

Demobilized  soldiers  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  in 
different  languages,  are  saying: 

If  the  world  isn't  going  to  give  us  a  better  chance  than  it 
gave  us  before  the  war,  then  the  world  wasn't  worth  fighting 
for.  When  we  fought,  they  told  us  it  was  to  make  the 
world  safe  for  democracy  and  to  make  life  worth  while. 
We  thought  this  meant  us  and  ours.  We  have  learned  that 
life  isn't  only  a  question  of  a  job  and  enough  to  eat,  we  want 
to  be  treated  like  human  beings.  A  man  wants  to  feel  that 
his  work  means  more  to  him  than  just  wages.  He  spends 
most  of  his  time  at  work,  the  rest  of  it  is  spent  with  his  family 
and  in  sleeping  so  he  will  be  able  to  work  the  next  day. 
Why  shouldn't  he  have  an  interest  in  the  business,  and  why 
shouldn't  the  business  have  an  interest  in  him?  We  don't 
want  to  run  the  business,  all  we  ask  is  a  say  in  it,  a  friendly 
say  in  it.  Some  people  think  that  to  be  fed  is  to  be  free — 
it  isn't.    Being  free  means  being  treated  like  a  human  being, 

I  have  found  many  decent  honest  men  and  women 
who  have  lost  interest  in  work.  They  say,  "We  don't  get 
a  fair  share  of  what  we  make.  We  fight  among  our- 
selves for  jobs  because  we  have  to  or  starve,  and  they 
pay  us  as  little  as  they  can."  I  am  not  reasoning  or 
arguing  this  question.  I  am  merely  stating  a  fact  which 
indicates  the  state  of  mind  of  millions  of  men  and  women 
in  Europe  who  during  the  past  four  years  did  their  bit 
for  civilization. 

Calling  these  people  Bolsheviki  doesn't  silence  them 
nor  solve  the  problem.  Such  tactics  irritate  and  deepen 
the  unrest.    Their  grievance  must  be  given  a  fair,  patient 


THE  WILL  TO  WORK  35 

hearing.  Their  attitude  of  kind  must  be  reckoned  with 
if  we  hope  to  get  back  to  normal  living.  I  have  heard 
it  said  that  these  people  must  be  made  to  understand  that 
it  is  work  or  starve.  No  law  or  government  in  the  world 
is  powerful  enough  to  compel  people  to  work.  To  think 
of  using  force  is  foolish,  suicidal. 

We  have  had  enough  force  during  the  last  four  years 
and  the  farther  we  get  away  from  the  idea  of  beating 
one  another  into  submission  the  better  off  we  shall  be. 
The  present  unrest  is  positively  dangerous.  It  isn't 
like  any  other  unrest.  There  is  no  precedent.  It  is  the 
restlessness  of  human  beings  who  have  been  face  to  face 
with  death.  We  need  calmness  and  common  sense.  Of 
one  thing  I  am  sure,  and  that  is,  if  an  effort  is  made  to 
use  blind,  brute  force  on  the  working  people  of  the 
world,  the  present  unrest  will  be  set  in  motion,  a  whirl- 
wind will  break  upon  the  world. 

The  open  road  to  happiness  is  cooperation.  If  we 
stop  for  a  moment  and  realize  what  we  have  been 
through,  and  the  changes  that  through  it  have  come  upon 
us,  we  will  find  getting  together  easy.  Unrest  blocks  the 
road.  It  fetters  the  will  to  work.  We  must  face  the 
truth,  and  the  sooner  we  do  so  the  better.  The  war  has 
bankrupted  Europe.  One  thing,  and  one  thing  only,  will 
bring  us  back  to  sane,  normal  living.  It  is  work.  Sym- 
pathy and  understanding  will  do  more  to  secure  peace 
and  stimulate  work,  than  defiance,  challenge  and  threats. 

A  normal  world  is  one  in  which  men  live  and  work, 
where  all  men  have  a  chance  to  be  happy,  an  interest  in 
work,   a  joy  in   working — living  to   work,   rather  than 


36  THE  NEW  WORLD 

working  to  live.  Men  must  have  food,  clean  wholesome 
food,  and  enough  of  it  to  do  their  work  without  exhaus- 
tion. Men  must  have  clothes.  Not  only  to  protect  their 
bodies  from  the  weather,  but  clothes  that  satisfy  the 
normal  instinct  for  cleanliness  and  neatness.  Decent 
clothes  sustain  self-respect. 

There  must  be  a  time  between  the  end  of  the  day  and 
the  beginning  of  sleep  in  which  men  can  know  and  enjoy 
their  families.  The  man  who  is  so  used  up  by  his  day's 
work  that  he  falls  asleep  at  his  supper  table  isn't  playing 
fair  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  his  employer  isn't 
playing  fair  with  him.  All  men  are  boys,  even  after  they 
have  gray  hair.  This  quality  is  probably  the  finest  and 
best  in  them.  They  need  a  playtime,  a  recreation  time. 
When  they  do  not  get  it,  they  lose  something  and  the 
world  loses  more.  It  is  not  enough  that  bodies  are  fed, 
minds  must  also  be  fed.  Light  is  the  right  of  every 
human  being  with  eyes.  Education  is  light.  The  human 
race  must  have  light.  Children  are  entitled  to  a  school 
time,  a  jump-the-rope  time,  a  top  time,  a  play  time.  A 
child  who  enters  manhood  or  womanhood  without  ever 
having  known  a  childhood  goes  through  life  with  some- 
thing missing,  something  lost.  The  creed  of  the  changed 
world  is  that  while  the  world  doesn't  owe  any  one  a  liv- 
ing, it  is  obligated  to  give  every  human  being  a  chance  to 
make  a  decent  living.  The  new  commandment  is  that 
this  chance  must  be  given.  These  were  some  of  the 
thoughts  I  found  planted  in  the  unrest  in  Europe.  They 
are  strongly,  deeply  rooted  in  the  consciousness  of  the 
people  and  they  are  growing.    Men  and  women  are  gar- 


THE  WILL  TO  WORK  37 

dening,  cultivating,  protecting  these  ideas.  Any  effort  to 
uproot  or  destroy  these  flowering  thoughts  will  be  re- 
sented and  fought  by  the  gardeners.  They  are  not  weed 
thoughts — they  are  the  blooms  of  hope  and  they  belong 
to  the  poor.  They  will  fight  and  die  before  they  will 
see  these  hope  growths  trampled  under  foot.  This  is  the 
only  garden  they  have.  The  blood  of  the  dead  fertilized 
it.    The  living  care  for  it. 


CHAPTER  IV 

UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  WAS  AN  ACORN, 
TO-DAY  IT  IS  AN  OAK 

A  SPECTER  haunts  Europe.  It  is  the  ghost  of  unrest. 
When  I  started  out  to  interview  unrest  in  Europe  I  did 
not  give  ear  to  the  idle  theorist  who  always  knows  all 
about  everything,  but  never  from  direct  experience, 
nor  did  I  go  to  the  agitator  who  preaches  unrest  in  "Red" 
words.  I  did  not  seek  out  the  type  of  fanatical  labor 
leader,  who,  eager  for  trouble,  is  trying  to  mobilize  unrest 
and  marshal  it  under  the  banner  of  Revolution.  I  passed 
over  the  place-hunting,  time-serving  politician.  I  was  not 
interested  in  platitudes  and  promises. 

I  sought  knowledge  of  unrest  from  those  who  knew  it 
by  actual  contact.  I  went  to  the  man  in  the  street,  the 
average  man.  I  talked  with  the  blackened  coal  miner  at 
the  mouth  of  the  shaft.  He  had  just  come  from  his  day 
of  darkness  in  the  ground.  I  visited  the  man  who  works 
in  the  mills.  I  listened  to  the  speech  of  the  teamster.  I 
went  to  factories  and  talked  with  men  between  the  two 
whistles  which  mark  the  time  of  the  noon  meal.  They 
munched  at  black  bread,  ate  cheese  or  sausage,  gulped 
tea,  coffee  or  cheap,  diluted  red  wine.  I  spent  time  with 
the  idle,  the  idle  by  choice  as  well  as  those  who  through 

38 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  39 

no  fault  of  their  own  were  without  work.  Only  yester- 
day, most  of  these  men  were  in  khaki ;  now,  back  on  the 
job  in  overalls,  they  were  thinking.  Their  speech  was 
troubled.  Discontent  looked  out  from  their  eyes.  I  could 
feel  the  undercurrent  of  unrest.  They  talked  it,  never 
as  unrest,  always  protest. 

Unrest  is  epidemic ;  it  is  militant.  Unrest  is  real,  it 
has  cause.  To  get  close  to  the  cause  of  this  disease 
which  threatens  revolution,  one  must  understand  what 
is  going  on  in  the  minds  of  the  men  upon  whom  the 
world's  work  is  depending.  Heed  must  be  given  to  the 
things  irritating  them,  and  a  remedy  found  for  the  irrita- 
tion, otherwise  serious  trouble  will  follow.  While  "war 
is  hell"  it  has  at  least  the  restraint  of  discipline.  A  revo- 
lution growing  out  of  unrest  would  mean  mob  madness, 
terrorism — fanatical,  brutal,  cruel  and  merciless.  Once 
started  it  would  ignite  the  world,  and  the  fire  would  run 
its  course  until  there  was  nothing  left  to  burn.  Who 
dares  picture  the  state  in  which  it  would  leave  the  world  ? 
In  this  day,  when  the  nerves  of  mankind  are  on  edge, 
when  cold  and  hunger  incite  to  destruction,  one  shud- 
ders to  think  of  the  fate  of  civilization  if  unrest  is  not 
checked  before  it  explodes  its  passion  and  wrath. 

Unrest  existed  before  the  war.  Then  an  acorn,  it  is 
now  an  oak.  Before  the  war  men  were  complaining,  and 
justly,  about  their  lot,  but  four  years  in  the  trenches 
caused  them  to  stop  complaining  and  act.  Soldiering 
taught  them  much.  They  learned  of  the  greatness  of 
force ;  to-day,  they  demand,  and  back  of  their  demand  is 
the  full  grown  grievance  and  the  war  lesson. 


40  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Plain  average  men  have  always  been  intensely  liuman. 
Loving  their  wives  and  children,  they  lived  for  their 
homes,  and  felt  keenly  their  responsibility  for  the  happi- 
ness of  the  loved  ones.  They  have  but  one  thing  to 
give.  Before  the  war  they  gave  it  unsparingly;  it  was 
their  labor.  Their  one  source  of  income  was  the  pay 
envelope.  With  their  wages  they  had  to  buy  shoes, 
clothes,  food,  and  provide  shelter  for  the  lives  they 
brought  into  the  world,  and  for  the  women  they  had 
chosen  to  be  the  mothers  of  those  children. 

"Home,  Sweet  Home,"  is  the  world's  anthem.  It  is 
the  heart  song  of  the  average  man.  From  his  home  he 
goes  to  work,  and  from  work  he  goes  home,  but  shanties 
and  tenements  are  not  homes.  These  men  have  always 
protested  against  the  ugly  shacks  in  which  they  were 
compelled  to  house  their  families.  They  bit  their  lips 
in  jobless  days  when  their  children  went  to  bed  hungry. 
Resentment  grew  in  their  hearts  when  they  saw  how 
poorly  dressed  their  wives  and  little  ones  were,  and 
they  muttered  curses  when  their  children  were  forced  to 
work.  They  had  hoped  their  children  would  have  a  better 
education  than  they  had  had,  and  a  better  chance  in  life. 

As  these  men  grew  older  their  families  grew  in  size 
and  wants,  while  their  ability  to  earn  decreased.  The 
tragedy  registered  in  their  pay  envelopes.  They  were 
being  ground  between  growing  needs  and  diminishing 
wages.  The  grinding  hurt  their  bodies  and  furrowed 
their  brains. 

They  lived  in  dread  of  poverty.  It  had  been  their 
nurse,  they  feared  it  would  be  their  pallbearer.    Poverty 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  41 

had  taken  its  revenge  upon  them.  They  were  resolving  it 
should  not  put  its  lash  upon  their  children.  They  knew 
poverty  intimately.  It  wasn't  a  word,  a  name ;  it  was  a 
living,  hateful,  cruel  companion.  It  was  the  evil  that 
recruited  the  Marys  of  Scarlet  Hall,  the  Magdalenes  of 
the  slums,  and  always  the  army  was  mobilized  from  the 
homes  of  the  poor.  Girls  who  had  been  robbed  of  their 
youth,  who  had  never  owned  a  flower,  poorly  fed  and 
miserably  clad,  dragged  out  of  bed  by  alarm  clocks, 
sounding  the  call  to  toil,  when  they  should  have  been 
answering  the  school  bell,  children  physically  unfit  for  the 
breadwinner's  struggle,  children  without  the  moral  en- 
durance necessary  for  the  life  fight,  were  driven  into 
"No  Woman's  Land,"  the  rotten  scum  under  the  world. 

Before  the  war  men  were  brooding  on  these  things. 
Papers,  books,  magazines,  mirroring  life,  pictured  these 
horrors.  Men  returning  from  a  hard  day's  work  talked 
these  things  over  with  their  wives  after  the  children  had 
gone  to  bed,  and  many  a  man  left  his  supper  table  to 
peek  through  the  half-closed  door  into  a  room  where  his 
"kiddies"  were  sleeping,  tiptoeing  back,  only  to  look  into 
the  eyes  of  a  mother,  and  see  reflected  there  the  fears 
he  felt. 

The  invention  of  the  typesetting  machine,  the  manu- 
facture of  cheap  paper,  the  growth  of  public  school  sys- 
tems, and  public  libraries,  brought  an  ever  increasing 
light  to  the  minds  of  workmen.  They  saw  more  clearly 
their  needs  and  more  completely  realized  their  rights. 
They  saw  that  education  is  the  light  in  the  road.  They 
sought  to  make  haste,  to  make  up  for  lost  time.    Educa- 


42  THE  NEW  WORLD 

tion  taught  them  to  want  things  for  themselves  and  their 
families  of  which  their  fathers  and  mothers  had  never 
thought.  The  homes  which  satisfied  their  parents  de- 
pressed and  irritated  them.  The  bathtub  and  tooth  brush 
are  acquired  habits.  The  desire  to  straighten  the  back 
that  has  been  bent  in  toil  too  long,  is  put  there  by 
education. 

One  thing  stood  in  the  way — obstructing  the  path  to 
decent  living — Poverty.  They  saw  this  impassable  ob- 
stacle was  the  result  of  poor  wages.  They  saw  more. 
They  saw  that  poor  wages  built  the  poorhouses  and 
filled  them,  organized  the  bread  lines,  introduced  the 
soup  house.  Out  of  their  thoughts,  and  from  their  ex- 
perience they  carved  a  truth.  As  long  as  some  people 
have  more  than  they  can  possibly  use,  while  others 
through  no  fault  of  their  own  have  less  than  they  abso- 
lutely need,  something  is  wrong. 

When  the  call  to  arms  came  these  thoughts  were  living 
in  the  mass  mind  of  the  world. 

A  PRIMARY  CAUSE  OF  UNREST 

Not  many  years  ago  something  happened  which  mate- 
rially changed  the  relatidns  between  employer  and  em- 
ployee, and  this  happening  has  had  a  marked  effect  upon 
industrial  discontent.  Something  was  lost.  The  human 
element,  the  personal  touch,  between  the  boss  and  the 
workers  stopped.  With  its  passing  unrest  grew  with 
great  vigor.  A  new  kind  of  unrest  which  resolved  itself 
into  a  lasting,  determined,  resolute  discontent.  It  came 
with  the  passing  of  the  small  business. 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  43 

In  the  day  of  the  small  plant,  business  was  owned  and 
run  by  a  man,  or  a  number  of  men  in  partnership.  These 
men  lived  in  the  community  in  which  their  men  lived. 
They  worked  with  their  men.  In  the  front  of  the  plant 
was  the  office  of  the  "boss."  He  was  on  the  job.  He 
wasn't  a  hired  boss,  either — ^he  was  the  real  boss — the 
owner.  The  sigii  under  which  the  business  was  run  bore 
his  name.  It  identified  him  with  the  business.  The  boss 
had  his  home  in  the  city  in  which  the  plant  was  located. 
His  children  went  to  the  school,  frequently  the  school  to 
which  the  children  of  his  workmen  went.  If  he  was  a 
church-going  man — and  generally  he  was — he  and  his 
family  went  on  Sunday  to  the  same  church  that  his  men 
and  their  families  attended.  The  men  who  worked  for 
him  knew  him,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  recognizing  him 
when  they  saw  him.  He  knew  many  of  them,  person- 
ally and  by  name.  Few  people  realized  then  how  much 
this  meant  to  the  maintenance  of  harmonious  relations  in 
the  industrial  world.  When  working  men  had  a  griev- 
ance, or  thought  they  had,  they  took  it  directly  to  the 
boss.  He  discussed  it  with  them.  He  was  reasonable 
and  fair.  If  the  complaint  was  well  founded  it  was 
given  consideration ;  a  remedy  was  found.  The  working 
man  was  satisfied.  He  had  had  his  way.  He  was 
treated  as  a  human  being.  He  felt  he  was  part  of  the 
business,  so  did  the  boss. 

In  the  day  of  small  business,  the  owner  of  a  factory 
or  plant  who  paid  his  men  an  unliving  wage  was  a 
marked  man  in  the  community.  Public  opinion  chastised 
him   for  his   selfishness    and   inhumanity.     The   people 


44  THE  NEW  WORLD 

said  he  was  a  sweater,  a  slave  driver,  and  held  him  in 
contempt.  They  contrasted  his  good  clothes,  the  style  of 
his  family  and  his  fine  mansion,  with  the  rags  his  working 
men  wore,  the  hovels  in  which  they  lived.  He  was 
pointed  out,  hated,  despised.  The  thought  of  the  commu- 
nity was  that  it  would  be  better  for  him  and  his  to  give 
up  some  of  their  excess  luxury  and  afford  the  men  living 
wages.  Disgrace  fell  not  only  upon  his  head,  but  fol- 
lowed his  wife  and  children.  When  they  went  to  church 
they  were  regarded  as  hypocrites ;  people  knew  that  every 
day  in  the  week  he  was  insulting  the  Christ  he  pretended 
to  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  Few  men  are  so  thick- 
skinned  as  not  to  feel  the  lash  of  public  opinion.  It 
isn't  easy  to  bear  the  hate  of  one's  neighbors,  and  it  is 
natural  for  men  to  want  the  good  opinion  of  their  fel- 
lows. In  the  day  of  small  business,  public  opinion  held  a 
lash  over  the  inhuman  and  greedy,  and  kept  hirers  of 
men  human.    But  the  small  employer  was  doomed. 

The  partnership  passed  off  the  stage  and  with  it  the 
personal  touch  between  employer  and  employees.  The 
corporation,  a  soulless  body,  was  born  of  the  law.  It 
absorbed  small  plants  and  small  businesses.  It  collected 
under  a  single  roof  thousands  of  men.  The  corporation, 
the  combination,  the  trust  had  come.  This  new  order 
of  doing  business  on  a  large  scale  was  efficient — econ- 
omical. It  eliminated  waste  and  duplication.  It  was  a 
great,  smooth-running  machine.  It  represented  progress 
in  doing  the  world's  work. 

The  corporation  name  did  not  disclose  the  owners  of 
Big  Business.     It   was  an   impersonal,  inhuman  thing. 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  45' 

Frequently  the  stockholders  did  not  live  in  the  cities 
where  the  plants  were  located.  The  real  owners  were 
unknown  to  employees  and  public.  Many  of  the  large 
shareholders  had  never  seen  the  plant.  The  men  who 
worked  in  the  plants  had  never  seen  the  men  for  whom 
they  worked.  The  man  actually  running  the  business 
was  only  an  employee.  He  was  paid  a  large  salary  and 
it  was  made  plain  to  him  when  he  was  hired  that  his 
salary  and  his  job  depended  on  his  ability  to  make  profits. 
The  corporation  was  organized  for  millions  of  dollars. 
The  manager  was  expected  to  make  dividends.  The 
larger  the  dividend  checks,  the  higher  he  was  rated.  His 
tenure  of  job  and  salary  were  measured  by  this  definition 
of  success.  To  make  profits  it  is  necessary  to  keep  down 
the  cost  of  production.  The  principal  item  in  the  cost 
of  production  Is  the  labor  charge,  the  wages  of  the  men. 
The  employee-manager  was  obliged  to  set  himself  to  his 
task.  One  object,  one  thought,  was  always  before  him 
— keep  down  wages.  He  drilled  this  idea  into  his  staff, 
his  superintendents  and  his  foremen.  The  first  com- 
mandment of  Big  Business  to  the  manager  was  "make 
dividends  or  quit." 

These  large  industrial  corporations  were  very  fre- 
quently overcapitalized.  A  corporation  representing  an 
actual  investment  of  $10,000,000  was  organized  for  $50,- 
000,000.  It  did  not  take  a  financier  to  see  that  $40,000,- 
000  of  its  capitalization  was  wind,  water,  fake — a  lie. 
The  law  that  gave  the  corporation  a  right  to  exist  forgot 
to  keep  it  under  control.  The  stock  was  sold,  the  shares 
representing  fiction  as  well  as  those  representing  value. 


46  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  Captain  of  Industry  spoke  of  the  $40,000,000  of 
overcapitahzation  as  a  "melon."  The  law  should  have 
written  it  down  as  larceny.  The  selling  of  this  stock  was 
nothing  more  or  less  than  obtaining  money  under  false 
pretenses.  When  a  working  man  obtained  bread  under 
false  pretenses  he  was  sent  to  jail.  When  honest  men 
cried  out  against  this  grand  larceny  they  were  called 
"muckrakers,"  agitators,  and  charged  with  provoking  un- 
rest, and  disturbing  business.  If  this  did  not  silence 
them,  paid  publicity  told  the  world  that  the  stock  was 
held  by  widows  and  orphans;  that  the  attacks  upon  it 
were  efforts  to  rob  them. 

The  state,  the  law  and  the  government  had  given  dol- 
lars the  right  to  organize.  A  corporation  is  a  union  of 
dollars,  exactly  as  organized  labor  is  a  union  of  men. 
The  men  organized  as  a  matter  of  self-defense.  They 
knew  the  individual  no  longer  had  a  chance  to  register 
his  complaint  with  the  owner  and  that  as  an  individual 
the  worker  was  utterly  meaningless  in  such  a  large 
scheme.  When  he  complained  he  was  told,  "Take  things 
as  they  are,  stop  whining;  if  you  don't  like  your  job, 
quit.  There  are  thousands  of  men  waiting  to  step  inta 
your  shoes." 

One  of  the  first  things  the  corporation  did  was  to  deny 
to  men  the  right  the  law  gave  them — the  right  to  organize. 
In  defiance  of  their  attitude  the  men  did  organize  and 
forged  the  strike  as  a  weapon  with  which  to  fight  for 
their  rights.  The  law  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  times. 
It  failed  to  furnish  protection.  It  neglected  to  provide  a 
reasonable    control    over    these   powerful    combinations. 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  47 

Workingmen  asked  for  the  privilege  of  collective  bar- 
gain— it  was  a  simple  request,  a  just  one;  its  meaning 
w^as  clear.  The  men  vv^anted  the  right  to  appoint  a  com- 
mittee to  represent  them  and  discuss  with  the  men  who 
hired  them  the  terms  of  employment.  The  directors, 
generally  men  who  never  saw  the  plant,  telegraphed  the 
employee  boss  a  command  to  refuse  the  demand  for  col- 
lective bargaining.  There  was  only  one  reply  the  men 
could  make.  They  made  it.  It  was  force — the  strike. 
The  last  twenty-five  years  have  been  filled  with  strikes, 
which  created  waste  and  caused  hate,  which  grew  out 
of  the  refusal  of  Big  Business  to  concede  to  men  a  right 
the  law  conferred  on  it,  the  right  to  organize. 

When  the  cost  of  living  forced  men  to  ask  for  an 
increase  in  wages  they  were  often  met  with  the  answer, 
"We  can't  aflford  it."  The  workers  could  not  afford  to 
work  longer  for  the  wages  they  were  getting,  because 
they  were  unable  to  make  both  ends  meet.  The  pay 
envelope  was  not  large  enough.  The  men  pointed  to  the 
fact  that  the  answer  given  by  capital  was  not  true.  To 
show  their  good  faith  the  capitalists  told  the  general 
public,  "We  are  only  making  three  per  cent  on  our  cap- 
ital ;  men  who  loan  money  get  five  per  cent."  They  did 
not  tell  the  people  they  were  receiving  three  per  cent  on 
$50,000,000,  while  the  real  capital  invested  was  only  $10,- 
000,000.  The  sweat  of  men  was  being  used  to  pay  divi- 
dends on  $40,000,000  of  stock.  If  the  dividends  earned 
were  distributed  over  the  capital  actually  invested,  $10,- 
000,000,  the  profits  would  have  been  shown  in  their  true 
light.     The  reasonableness  of  the  demand  of  the  men 


48  THE  NEW  WORLD 

would  have  been  disclosed.  It  was  a  case  of  crooked 
capitalization,  lying  to  protect  its  ill-gotten  gains.  Big 
Business  needs  etliics — Captains  of  Industry  need  ideals. 

The  law  left  the  men  helpless.  They  had  only  one 
course — Fight,  Strike !  Strikes  cause  great  public  in- 
convenience. The  people  smarting  under  hardships  con- 
demn and  blame  the  strikers.  Strikes  have  another  effect 
that  is  even  worse.  They  harden  hate  into  a  concrete 
class  feeling.  Strikes  are  responsible  for  the  attitude 
of  mind  of  many  working  men  to-day  who  say,  "I  will 
do  as  little  work  as  possible  for  the  money  I  get."  It  is  a 
vicious  circle  of  hate. 

Cooperation  is  made  impossible,  confidence  is  de- 
stroyed, trust  is  killed ;  the  chasm  between  employer  and 
employee  is  widened  and  deepened.  A  final  consequence 
of  these  physical  and  psychological  effects  is  the  tend- 
ency towards  riot.  The  strike  is  the  training  school.  It 
creates  idleness,  hunger,  irritation,  disregard  for  law, 
which,  when  combined  and  concentrated,  make  revolu- 
tions. 

The  seed  of  unrest  is  planted. 

THE  WAR  TAUGHT  THE  LESSON  OF  FORCE 

Making  a  soldier  out  of  a  civilian  does  more  than 
change  the  clothes  he  wears.  It  changes  the  man.  Men 
who  had  never  owned  a  revolver  or  rifle,  who  had  never 
even  shot  one,  who  had  never  killed  anything  in  their 
lives,  were  given  firearms.  They  were  drilled,  taught  to 
shoot,  taught  to  kill.  The  education  was  thorough  and 
scientific.     They  learned  to  look  down  the  sight  of  a 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR      49 

rifle,  pick  out  a  human  head  for  a  target,  fire  and  eagerly 
watch  for  the  man  to  fall.  They  were  trained  to  rush 
madly  at  a  wall  of  human  beings  and  drive  bayonets  into 
men's  heads  and  bowels.  Many  of  these  men  a  few 
years  before  would  have  fainted  in  a  stockyard  where 
cattle  were  being  killed.  For  four  years  they  have  been 
in  a  human  slaughterhouse,  not  only  as  spectators,  but  as 
part  of  the  place.  It  steeled  them  and  made  them  im- 
mune. Many  of  them  contracted  the  undertaker's  point 
of  view  towards  life,  a  fatalism  without  fear. 

Experience  in  battle  taught  them  the  meaning  of  the 
word  "force."  They  discovered  that  the  individual  was 
only  important  and  efficient  when  he  acted  in  concert  with 
a  group.  Everything  depended  upon  team  work.  Men 
learned  that  a  group  of  men  working  in  harmony,  with 
nerve  and  rifles,  with  fixed  bayonets,  could  do  wonderful 
things.  They  could  take  an  objective.  In  other  words, 
take  the  thing  they  wanted  and  needed.  When  these 
men  came  back  into  civil  life,  took  off  their  khaki  and 
put  on  overalls,  the  taking  off  of  the  khaki  and  the  put- 
ting on  of  working  clothes  did  not  erase  from  their 
minds  the  lessons  the  war  had  taught. 

This  lesson  has  borne  fruit.  The  men  look  at  the  em- 
ployer as  an  enemy.  The  employer  thinks  of  them  as  a 
commodity.  Hatred  is  cordial.  The  men  want  some- 
thing. They  demand  it.  The  employer  refuses.  Their 
objective  is  to  get  the  thing  they  want  and  need.  The 
war  taught  them  that  there  is  a  way,  a  weapon — Force. 
To-day  in  Europe  men  reason,  'Tf  we  can't  get  what  we 
want,  and  need,  we  must  take  it.     We  have  the  force." 


50  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Having  grown  habituated  to  suffering,  accustomed  to 
blood  and  death,  they  look  with  indifference  on  the  ques- 
tion of  danger,  of  price.  They  saw  that  when  nations 
could  not  agree  they  resorted  to  force.  They  discovered 
that  victory  generally  went  to  the  nation  possessing  the 
greatest  force. 

In  the  labor  movement  of  Europe  we  have  this  idea 
in  what  is  called  "direct  action."  "Direct  action"  is  noth- 
ing more  or  less  than  applying  war  methods  to  peace 
conditions.  They  seek  to  secure  their  objective  by  force. 
No  allowance  is  made  for  the  fact  that  methods  neces- 
sary in  war  are  not  justifiable  in  peace. 

Many  men  got,  while  in  the  army,  their  first  taste  of 
fresh  air  and  decent  food.  Ver}^  properly  the  allied 
governments  gave  the  best  of  everything  to  the  men  in 
the  armies.  It  isn't  difhcult  to  get  accustomed  to  good 
food  and  fresh  air ;  it  is  hard  to  go  back  to  poor  food  and 
the  tenements.  Back  home,  many  of  the  demobilized 
soldiers  are  not  eating  as  well  or  as  much  as  they  ate 
during  their  service.  Despite  the  rigid  discipline  of  army 
life,  men  are  treated  as  men.  The  humblest  man  in  the 
ranks  has  rights  that  must  be  respected.  This  is  not 
always  the  case  in  civil  life.  Then,  too,  while  in  tmiform 
the  private  was  made  much  of.  He  was  looked  upon 
as  one  of  his  country's  heroes. 

Since  the  war  ended  he  has  been  demobilized,  forgot- 
ten and  neglected.  This  has  soured  him.  He  resents  it. 
Social  distinction  has  come  back.  Now  he  is  only  a 
working  man. 

Another  cause  of  unrest  among  the  workingmen  of 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  51 

Europe  grows  also  out  of  the  war.  Mobilization  took 
millions  of  men  from  their  jobs.  A  great  shortage  of 
labor  resulted.  Employers  competed  with  one  another 
to  get  men.  The  usual  competition  was  among  men  to 
get  jobs.  The  law  of  supply  and  demand  affected  the 
labor  market,  wages  went  up.  The  soldier  went  off  to 
war.  While  he  was  in  the  trenches  the  wages  back 
home  were  high.  His  pay  was  small.  Our  fighting 
men  were  not  interested  in  pay.  They  went  to  fight  for 
a  principle. 

With  the  coming  of  peace  a  large  quantity  of  labor 
was  dumped  upon  the  market.  The  demobilized  men 
rushed  for  employment.  Comrades  in  arms  became  com- 
petitors for  jobs.  The  same  old  law  of  supply  and  de- 
mand started  wages  in  Europe  tobogganing.  The 
number  of  men  who  wanted  jobs  was  much  greater  than 
the  number  of  places  available.  The  returning  soldier 
seeking  a  job  was  offered  a  much  smaller  wage  than  he 
knew  was  paid  for  the  same  work  while  he  had  been 
fighting.  It  incensed  him.  He  figured  that  he  had  given 
four  years  out  of  his  life,  had  come  home  tired  and 
broke.  He  looked  upon  the  decline  in  wages  as  a  posi- 
tive discrimination  against  him. 

Everywhere  I  have  heard  these  men  say: 

We  are  out  of  luck.  The  bands  played  and  we  were 
applauded  when  we  left  to  fight.  While  we  were  gone  wages 
went  up.  We  don't  begrudge  the  men  who  stayed  at  home 
the  wages  they  got,  but  it's  damned  funny  that  when  we 
come  back,  down  go  wages.  The  cost  of  living  don't  go 
down.     I  guess  we're  out  of  luck. 


52  THE  NEW  WORLD 

I  found  two  phrases  inseparable  in  the  speech  of  the 
discontented,  "the  high  cost  of  Hving"  and  "the  profit- 
eer." Workingmen  with  whom  I  talked,  freely  admitted 
that  some  of  the  high  cost  of  living  was  the  legitimate 
result  of  the  great  demand  for  everything  and  the  natural 
shortage,  but  in  the  same  breath  they  insisted  that  much 
of  it  was  due  to  the  mercenary,  ghoulish  profiteer. 

The  profiteer  took  blood  money  during  the  world's 
greatest  tragedy.  He  exacted  usur}^  from  the  toiler  at 
home  and  the  fighting  man  at  the  front.  He  drew  divi- 
dends out  of  the  tears  and  wails  of  broken-hearted 
women  and  fright-stricken  children.  He  minted  his 
gold  out  of  agony,  stan^ation,  heartaches.  He  stands 
to-day  the  Judas  of  the  war,  the  most  despised  man  of 
earth. 

The  profiteer  is  not  an  Englishman,  a  Frenchman,  Ita- 
lian nor  an  American.  He  is  found  in  every  country  of 
the  world,  a  man  without  nationality,  without  con- 
science, without  humanity.  He  is  the  pimp  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  is  still  on  the  job.  The  profiteer  has  blackened 
the  reputation  of  America. 

A  common  comment  of  Europe  is,  "The  United  States 
made  money  out  of  the  war."  These  people  do  not  refer 
to  the  money  made  legitimately.  They  point  to  the 
fact,  a  fact  given  great  publicity  in  Europe,  that  in 
August,  1 9 14,  there  were  about  7,000  American  million- 
aires ;  while  at  the  time  of  the  signing  of  the  Armistice 
it  was  estimated  "the  millionaire  colony  had  increased 
by  23,000,  making  a  total  of  30,000  millionaires  in  the 
United  States." 


UNREST  BEFORE  THE  WAR  53 

Under  date  of  November  17,  1919,  J.  S.  Bache  &  Co., 
members  of  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  in  their 
financial  letter  said,  "In  mercantile  circles  there  is  pro- 
ceeding, at  the  present  time,  a  vast  amount  of  specula- 
tion on  a  very  large  scale  in  commodities.  An  incident 
is  cited  to  us  of  one  concern  that  is  carrying  $15,000,000 
worth  of  vegetable  oils,  which  are  in  great  demand,  and 
the  concern  is  holding  them  for  higher  prices.  This  is 
a  distinct  damage  tO'  the  consumers,  and  keeps  living 
prices  in  these  things,  used  daily,  at  top  and  increasing 
levels.  Speculation  of  this  kind  is  a  real  detriment  to  the 
community."    It  is  only  a  sample  of  the  profiteer's  work. 

The  pair  of  shoes  the  workingman  once  bought  for 
$3.50  are  now  $8  and  $10.  It  is  true  that  the  cost  of 
labor  and  material  have  gone  up,  but  not  enough  to  war- 
rant any  such  exorbitant  prices.  Some  business  men 
have  taken  advantage  of  the  situation,  and  justify  their 
larcenies  on  the  ground  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand. 
A  shoe  man  with  a  prominent  Chicago  firm,  a  man  long 
in  the  business,  told  me  that  the  present  unwarranted  and 
outrageous  price  of  shoes  was  due  to  the  fact  that  Amer- 
ican shoe  manufacturers  could  get  almost  any  price  for 
shoes  from  the  barefooted  people  of  Europe. 

Governments  are  blamed  for  not  dealing  with  this 
species  of  holdup.  No  wonder  the  discontented  ask, 
^'Why  isn't  profiteering  treason — why  shouldn't  these 
'Fagins'  be  sent  to  the  wall  with  a  firing  squad  as  an 
escort  ?" 

The  profiteer  is  still  on  the  job. 

He  is  holding  up  the  world,  a  stricken  world. 


CHAPTER  V 
A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS 

Europe  was  succumbing  to  exhaustion  when  the  war 
came  to  an  end.  •  The  terrible  waste  was  telling.  Endur- 
ance had  reached  the  breaking  point.  With  peace  there 
came  the  one  thought.  There  must  be  no  more  war. 
The  men  who  did  the  fighting  voiced  it  loudest. 

"I'm  glad  I  had  a  chance  to  do  my  part — I  wouldn't 
have  missed  the  'show'  for  a  million  dollars,  and  I 
wouldn't  take  a  million  dollars  to  go  through  it  again," 
is  the  way  they  put  it.  Everywhere  in  Europe  one  heard, 
"It  is  over,  it  is  finished,  thank  God." 

The  first  thought  of  reconstruction  was  a  plan  to  make 
peace  permanent. 

The  laboratory  and  the  machine  shop  gave  to  this  war 
their  terrible  new  agencies  to  kill  and  maim  men.  There 
had  been  invented  liquid  fire,  mustard  gas,  high  ex- 
plosives, bombs  from  the  clouds,  torpedoes  from  the  sea 
depths.  The  world  was  horror  stricken.  The  length 
of  the  conflict,  the  number  of  dead  and  crippled,  the 
raiding  and  bombing  of  defenseless  cities  taught  the 
world  that  an  end  must  be  put  to  war  if  civilization  is 
to  live. 

So  the  people,  particularly  the  working  people,  took 

54 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  55 

heart  when  a  League  of  Nations  was  suggested  as  a 
means  of  enforcing  peace.  They  placed  their  hopes  in 
it.  They  had  suffered  most  from  the  war.  The  dead 
were  largely  their  dead.  The  returning  cripples  were 
blood  of  their  blood.  As  they  put  it,  they  were  from 
their  class.  Of  course  the  sons  of  the  other  class  fought, 
shared  the  hardships,  paid  the  price,  but  they  were  com- 
paratively few.  The  group  from  which  they  came  is 
small,  while  the  toll  of  casualties  from  labor's  ranks 
is  large. 

Controversies  between  nations  have  always  been  in- 
evitable. In  the  absence  of  some  scheme  of  arbitration 
there  was  but  one  way  that  these  controversies  could  be 
settled.    It  was  force — War. 

It  is  common  for  individuals  to  have  serious  differ- 
ences of  opinion.  Every  lawsuit,  and  there  are  thou- 
sands of  them  in  every  city  of  every  country,  represents 
a  difference  of  opinion.  If  we  did  not  have  courts  pro- 
viding a  peaceful  determination  of  these  disputes,  the 
litigants  would  be  compelled  to  settle  their  differences  by 
force.  Assault  and  battery  would  succeed  orderly  pro- 
cedure. Nations  have  been  without  a  peaceful  means  of 
adjusting  their  difficulties,  and  as  a  consequence  they 
have  been  compelled  to  resort  to  force. 

The  peace  conference  met  in  Paris.  Labor  watched 
it.  At  an  early  stage  in  its  proceedings,  intrigue  was 
discovered.  Wrangling,  bickering,  bargaining  and  trad- 
ing for  commercial  advantage  occupied  the  time  and 
thought  that  the  world  expected  would  be  devoted  to 
the  building  up  of  a  league  that  would  at  least  decrease 


56  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  chances  of  future  wars.  Statesmen  in  their  blind 
devotion  to  expediency  lost  sight  of  the  great  reason  for 
the  conference.  They  talked  of  boundary  lines,  dis- 
cussed frontiers,  and  always  from  the  point  of  view  of 
financial  and  military  advantage  to  their  respective  coun- 
tries. It  was  noticed  that  the  territories  over  which  they 
quarreled  were  rich  in  minerals  or  some  other  products 
of  great  commercial  advantage.  They  squabbled  over 
spoils.  Then,  too,  these  men  who  were  supposed  to  be 
concerned  in  the  future  peace  of  the  world,  in  arguing 
over  frontiers  urged  their  claims  on  the  grounds  that 
their  respective  countries  needed  these  frontiers  to  make 
them  secure  in  future  wars.  What  future  wars  and  why 
the  discussion  of  future  wars  at  a  conference,  the  object 
of  which  was  future  peace? 

Working  men  watched,  listened  and  thought.  They 
construed  these  bickerings  and  wranglings  as  evidence  of 
the  fact  that  there  is  an  interest  in  the  world  which  does 
not  believe  in  giving  up  force.  I  am  only  reporting  the 
truth  when  I  add  they  suspect  this  interest  is  Capital. 

If  the  League  of  Nations  fails  this  suspicion  will  be 
confirmed.  The  movement  toward  an  internationalism 
of  the  workers  will  be  given  great  impetus.  The  League 
of  Nations  failing,  they  argue  there  is  only  one  other 
means  of  preventing  war.  It  is  for  the  men  who  make 
up  the  rank  and  file  of  the  armies  in  time  of  war,  the 
millions  recruited  from  shops,  factories  and  fields,  to  get 
together  and  organize  an  international  labor  authority  to 
save  the  working  men  from  war.  Such  a  movement 
would  take  away  from  governments  an  important  and 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  57 

necessary  function  and  give  to  one  class  in  the  world  a 
power  so  great  that  political  governments  would  be  pup- 
pets in  their  hands,  and  yet  in  the  light  of  the  happenings 
of  the  last  five  years  labor  should  not  be  blamed.  The 
world  is  entitled  to  protection  against  such  slaughter  as 
it  has  just  gone  through,  and  if  the  political  governments 
fail  to  take  the  necessary  steps  the  plain  people  will. 

Internationalism  is  coming — in  fact,  it  is  already  here. 
Inventions  have  brought  the  people  of  the  world  closer 
together.  The  wireless  and  the  cable  give  us  the  happen- 
ings of  remote  parts  of  the  world  in  a  few  hours.  Dis- 
tance has  been  destroyed.  We  are  becoming  neighbors 
in  knowledge  of  each  other,  whether  we  live  on  the  same 
continent  or  not.  Modem  transportation  is  shortening 
the  time  between  places.  An  air  service  is  in  prospect 
which  promises  to  make  London  as  near  New  York  to- 
morrow as  Chicago  is  to-day. 

We  already  have  successful  internationalism  in  finance 
and  credits.  Big  business  long  ago  obliterated  national 
lines.  The  commerce  of  the  world  is  organized  inter- 
nationally. 

The  important  question  is:  What  form  will  the  new 
internationalism  take?  Will  it  be  an  internationaUsm  of 
organized  dollars?  If  so,  the  world  is  in  serious  danger 
of  a  financial  autocracy.  Will  it  be  an  internationalism 
of  organized  labor?  This  means  the  dictatorship  of  the 
proletariat.  Both  are  equally  undesirable.  No  part  of 
the  people  should  be  permitted  to  enforce  their  will  upon 
the  rest.  One  kind  of  slavery  is  as  bad  as  another.  The 
great  majority  of  the  human  race  wants  freedom,  not 


58  THE  NEW  WORLD 

advantage.  It  is  not  ambitious  to  dictate — it  will  not 
brook  dictation. 

A  League  of  Nations  is  the  solution.  It  is  a  union  of 
the  nations  of  the  world,  and  as  the  nations  of  the  world 
represent  all  the  people  of  the  various  states  such  a  com- 
bination is  democratic.  That  it  is  necessary  is  plain. 
Rivalry  for  markets,  competition  for  trade,  are  bound 
to  lead  to  war  unless  there  is  an  agreement  that  these 
and  other  problems  will  be  submitted  to  arbitration.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  submit  questions-  involving  national 
honor.  Few  of  such  questions  ever  directly  provoke 
war.  It  is  when  nations  fighting  each  other  for  markets 
reach  a  point  of  positive  disagreement  that  they  begin 
calling  each  other  names.  These  insults  wound  honor, 
war  results. 

A  League  of  Nations  is  a  continuance  of  the  peace 
table,  and  notwithstanding  the  wranglings  of  the  peace 
table  there  would  have  been  war  in  Europe  before  this 
if  it  had  not  been  sitting  in  Paris.  Two  cases  serve  to 
illustrate.  The  coal  fields  of  upper  Galicia,  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  plebiscite  between  Poland  and  Germany, 
would  have  been  a  cause  of  war  if  the  peace  table  had 
not  been  in  existence.  Poland  had  troops  on  the  border. 
Germany  had  her  soldiers  at  the  frontier.  One  thing, 
and  one  thing  alone,  prevented  war — it  was  the  fear  of 
the  peace  table.  The  same  facts  described  the  contro- 
versy between  Poland  and  Czecho-Slovakia;  war  was 
avoided  by  the  peace  table  submitting  the  Teschen  ques- 
tion to  a  vote  of  the  people  of  the  territory. 

No  League  of   Nations  which  does  not  include  the 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  59 

United  States  will  have  much  effect  upon  the  future 
peace  of  Europe.  The  nations  of  Europe  distrust  each 
other,  but  each  one  respects  the  fact  that  the  United 
States  does  not  seek  territory  in  Europe.  This  gives 
America  the  commanding  place.  With  this  moral  force 
we  can  do  much  to  maintain  the  peace  of  the  world. 

The  propaganda  of  revolution  coming  out  of  Bol- 
shevist Russia,  urging  the  workers  to  organize  an  inter- 
national dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  and  seize  the 
world,  is  not  nearly  as  dangerous  to  the  peace  of  the 
world  as  the  political  heckling  against  the  League  of 
Nations. 

The  Bolsheviki  are  the  sworn  enemies  of  the  League 
of  Nations.  In  their  proclamation  calling  the  first  Con- 
gress of  the  Communist  International,  afterwards  known 
as  the  Third  International,  issued  on  February  24,  1919, 
the  Soviet  government  called  the  proletariat  of  all  coun- 
tries to  oppose  any  League  of  Nations,  saying,  "The 
danger  is  that  this  revolution  may  be  killed  by  the  resist- 
ance of  the  capitalistic  state,  which  organized  a  League 
of  Nations  against  the  revolution."  The  Bolsheviki 
favor  an  internationalism,  but  of  a  different  kind,  a  dic- 
tatorship of  the  proletariat,  and  to  get  it  they  advocate 
the  overthrow  of  all  existing  governments.  The  political 
hecklers  in  America  who  are  assailing  the  League  of 
Nations  are  playing  into  the  hands  of  the  Russian 
"Reds."  They  are  giving  aid  and  comfort,  strength  and 
support,  to  the  internationalism  of  disorder.  While  it  is 
true  that  America's  sovereignty  should  be  safeguarded 
by  reasonable  and  proper  reservations,  it  is  nevertheless 


6o  THE  NEW  WORLD 

true  that  these  reservations  should  be  considered  and 
adopted  without  any  thought  of  the  effect  upon  the  presi- 
dential election  of  1920.  The  failure  to  establish  a 
League  of  Nations  would  be  a  world  tragedy  and  in  its 
wake  may  come  revolution.  The  ground  gained  by  the 
war  would  be  lost  and  the  dead  would  have  died  in  vain, 
for  they  fought  to  end  autocracy  and  its  champion,  mili- 
tarism. Until  some  plan  is  evolved  which  will  provide 
machinery  for  the  arbitration  of  differences  between  na- 
tions, all  talk  of  peace  is  wasting  words;  the  hope  of 
ending  war  is  idle  dreaming. 

THE  "RED"  FLAG  IN  EUROPE 

Radicalism  in  Europe  is  rampant.  The  workers  are 
active,  the  middle  class  sympathetic.  Industrial  centers 
are  hotbeds.  The  conservatism  of  the  farmers  and  peas- 
ants is  breaking  down.  It  is  hard  to  define  this  radical- 
ism— it  is  without  form.  It  has  no  definite  program,  it 
isn't  even  political.  The  people  are  dissatisfied.  The 
"Red"  flag  is  popular.  It  promises  a  short  cut.  It  an- 
swers the  cry  of  the  impatient.  I  was  surprised  to  see 
many  of  the  men  who  fought  so  gallantly  under  their 
country's  flag  and  who  but  yesterday  would  have  torn 
the  "Red"  flag  from  the  flagpole,  now  defending  it,  carry- 
ing it  and  following  it.  The  majority  of  them  do  not 
know  what  the  "Red"  flag  stands  for.  To  them  it  repre- 
sents a  protest  against  things  as  they  are.  The  attitude 
of  mind  of  the  workers  in  Europe  is  eagerness  for  a 
change — some  change — any  change.     Every  one  knows 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  6i 

the  symptoms,  understands  what  is  wrong,  but  the 
remedy  is  only  vaguely  discussed. 

I  attach  much  significance  to  the  new  attitude  of  or- 
ganized labor  in  Europe.  Labor  unions  formerly  con- 
cerned themselves  with  wages,  terms  of  employment, 
shop  conditions,  safety  appliances,  recognition  of  their 
right  of  collective  bargaining.  Since  the  war  the  labor 
movement  has  taken  up  questions  entirely  outside  of  its 
field,  questions  properly  the  concern  of  all  the  people, 
questions  of  government  policy.  I  have  in  mind  recent 
demands  made  by  the  working  men  in  England,  France 
and  Italy.  These  demands  were  addressed  to  the  regu- 
larly and  properly  elected  representatives  of  the  people, 
the  governments.  They  were  accompanied  by  threats  of 
general  strikes  if  they  were  not  acceded  to.  This  step 
is  an  innovation ;  it  is  revolutionary. 

The  working  men  are  citizens  and  have  a  voice  in  the 
government  equal  with  all  other  citizens.  After  the 
people  have  selected  their  representatives,  the  men 
chosen  should  be  responsible  to  all  of  the  people  with- 
out regard  to  class  or  station.  A  government  by  one  por- 
tion of  the  people  is  autocratic.  Government  of  the  peo- 
ple, for  the  people,  and  by  the  people,  means  all  of  the 
people.  The  effort  on  the  part  of  minority  in  the  labor 
movement,  who  challengingly  call  themselves  socialists, 
to  dictate  to  the  state,  representing  all  of  the  people,  is 
an  attack  upon  democracy.  If  successful  it  would  de- 
stroy the  state  and  leave  the  great  majority  of  the  people, 
including  the  workers,  less  free  than  they  are  now.  What 


62  THE  NEW  WORLD 

sane  man,  whether  he  is  a  working  man  or  not,  is  in 
favor  of  minority  government? 

I  witnessed  many  demonstrations  in  Europe  under  the 
"Red"  flag,  in  which  the  leaders  demanded  from  the  gov- 
ernment three  things. 

First,  they  demanded  the  release  of  all  the  men  in  jail 
who  were  held  for  political  crimes.  These  included  men 
found  guilty  of  sedition  and  treason  during  the  war.  I 
cannot  understand  this  demand.  Why  should  men  be  re- 
leased from  custody  who  sought  to  stab  in  the  back  the 
men  who  went  to  the  trenches  to  fight  and  die  for  free- 
dom? I  should  much  prefer  to  see  all  of  the  burglars 
released.  If  I  am  compelled  to  choose  between  the  traitor 
and  the  burglar,  I  will  have  no  trouble  in  making  my 
decision. 

Second,  they  demanded  that  no  soldiers  be  sent  to 
Russia.  The  agitation  on  this  point  was  so  strong  that 
when  the  British  government  attempted  to  send  soldiers 
to  Russia  last  summer,  the  soldiers  mutinied,  and  so  far 
as  I  am  able  to  learn  the  feeling  was  so  acute,  the  situa- 
tion so  critical,  the  government  dared  not  court-martial 
them. 

Third,  they  demanded  that  all  conscription  laws  be 
abolished. 

It  is  apparent  that  these  demands,  coming  from  a 
minority,  backed  by  a  threat,  constitute  an  invasion  of 
the  rights  of  the  people.  The  question  is  not  whether  or 
not  one  believes  these  things  should  be  done ;  the  issue  is 
the  method  resorted  to.  I  do  not  believe  soldiers  should 
be  sent  to  Russia;  I  never  have.    In  my  opinion  allied 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  63 

intermeddling  has  been  harmful,  but  if  these  matters  of 
general  public  policy  are  to  be  decided,  all  of  the  people 
should  have  a  vote  in  the  verdict. 

This  new  attitude  of  labor,  in  conjunction  with  the 
growing  popularity  of  "direct  action,"  indicates  that  the 
labor  movement  is  losing  faith  in  law  and  political  action. 
I  am  not  saying  that  labor's  experience  with  politics,  the 
betrayal  by  men  it  has  supported,  and  the  default  of  po- 
litical parties  to  carry  out  preelection  pledges,  may  not 
be  responsible  for  a  distrust  in  political  government.  I 
am  not  denying  that  capital  has  had  the  ear  of  govern- 
ment more  than  it  should ;  that  property  has  been  given 
more  thought  than  human  beings.  I  am  concerned  with 
the  danger  these  innovations  promise,  a  danger  to  the 
working  men  themselves,  a  menace  to  law  and  order, 
without  which  no  one  is  secure,  without  which  there  can 
be  no  freedom. 

I  heard  a  speech  in  London  that  impressed  me  deeply. 
It  was  applauded  by  several  thousand  men  and  women — 
average  good  British  working  people,  most  of  whom 
wore  service  badges.  The  speaker,  a  clean  young  Eng- 
lishman of  about  thirty-five,  said : 

Political  action  is  a  failure.  We  vote  and  we  are  be- 
trayed. Political  parties  are  the  agents  of  bands  of  capital. 
Their  purpose  is  to  keep  the  workers  apart,  knowing  that 
divided  we  are  powerless.  The  only  time  they  are  willing 
we  should  unite  is  when  war  calls  for  men.  What  did  we 
win  in  the  war?  Nothing.  We  thought  we  had  a  stake  in 
the  game,  that  the  hand  we  were  playing  was  our  own. 
Now  that  it  is  over  we  have  discovered  that  we  won  nothing. 

What  did  the  working  man  ever  get  by  voting,   except 


64  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  worst  of  it?    The  word  vote  comes  from  a  Latin  word, 
meaning  "to  wish."     Who  ever  got  anything  by  wishing? 

We  are  like  the  story  in  Bellamy's  "Looking  Backward." 
You  remember  he  spoke  of  a  coach.  On  top  of  this  coach 
the  capitalists  sit  in  the  sunshine  enjoying  the  ride.  On 
the  side  of  the  coach,  hanging  by  their  fingernails  and  toe- 
nails, are  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  make  up  the  middle 
class.  Millions  of  men  are  pulling  the  coach.  They  are 
sweating  and  trudging — they  are  the  working  men.  Run- 
ning along  the  side  of  the  coach  are  millions  more,  fighting 
to  get  a  chance  to  get  hold  of  the  rope  and  pull  the  coach. 
They  are  the  idle.  There  is  only  one  thing  to  do.  That  is 
to  stop  pulling  the  coach,  let  go  of  the  rope.  Don't  wish 
about  it;  do  it.  The  fellows  on  the  top  of  the  coach  don't  do 
any  wishing — ^they  boss  and  drive. 

The  crowd  cheered.  There  was  truth  in  the  speech. 
The  working  man  has  not  had  a  square  deal,  but  this 
fact  does  not  make  the  plan  of  direct  action  a  sane,  wise 
plan.  Revolution  would  only  lead  to  blood  and  disorder 
and  leave  the  very  men  who  revolted  in  a  far  worse 
plight.  The  millions  who  are  the  majority  have  an  infi- 
nitely better  weapon  than  force.  They  have  the  ballot. 
They  are  in  the  majority.  Men  must  think  their  way  out 
of  the  wilderness.  They  cannot  fight  their  w'ay  out. 
When  they  try  to  they  go  deeper  in. 

I  found  the  word  Bolshevism  in  the  minds  and  on  the 
lips  of  the  working  people  of  Europe.  I  expected  to  find 
them  anti-Bolsheviki  if  for  no  other  reason  than  that 
Bolshevism  came  from  Russia  and  the  Bolsheviki  made 
peace  with  Germany  while  the  Allies  were  in  a  death 
struggle  with  her.    I  found  them  confessing  their  faith 


A  TRAGEDY  OF  POLITICS  65 

in  Bolshevism,  speaking  of  it  as  a  new  religion,  resent- 
ing the  obstacles  their  own  governments  had  placed  in 
its  way. 

Ireland  was  the  last  place  in  which  I  expected  to  hear 
the  word  Bolshevism.  The  Irish  people  are  in  many  re- 
spects the  most  conservative  in  the  world.  History  shows 
that  their  only  radicalism  has  been  uprisings  seeking 
national  freedom.  The  Irish  are  a  people  of  reminiscence 
and  tradition.  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  Irish  are  Roman 
Catholics,  and  no  single  power  has  so  consistently  and 
continuously  fought  socialism  as  the  Catholic  Church.  I 
attended  the  Irish  Trade  and  Labor  Assembly  held  in 
August,  191 9,  at  Drogheda.  The  delegates  to  this 
National  Convention  of  Organized  Labor  in  Ireland 
represented  approximately  three  hundred  thousand 
union  men  and  women.  The  delegates  came  from 
Ulster  and  from  the  south  and  west  of  Ireland.  In  this 
Convention  were  Sinn  Feiners,  Nationalists  and  Union- 
ists. A  resolution  sending  greetings  and  sympathy 
to  the  Soviet  government  was  passed  by  the  delegates. 
Delegates  who  held  opposite  opinions  on  the  Irish  ques- 
tion stood  together  and  voted  for  the  Bolshevist  resolu- 
tion. Later  I  learned  that  few  of  them  if  any  knew  the 
facts  about  the  Bolshevist  program,  its  aims,  aspirations 
and  methods.  I  asked  a  leading  spirit  at  the  convention 
if  he  believed  in  communism,  the  abolition  of  private 
ownership  of  property,  and  he  made  quick  answer:  "Of 
course  not.  Such  a  theory  is  rank  nonsense.  It  is 
socialism.     It  is  impossible  and  impracticable." 

I   found  this  same  paradox  in  England  and  on  the 


66  THE  NEW  WORLD 

continent.  Frequently  workmen  are  Bolsheviki  because 
the  employers  are  opposed  to  it,  and  many  employers 
are  against  Bolshevism  because  organized  workingmen 
lean  toward  it. 

The  United  States  Senate  Sub-Committee  on  the 
Judiciary,  after  a  searching  investigation  of  Bolshevism, 
reported  that  through  utter  ignorance  of  what  Bolshe- 
vism means  as  a  code  of  political  and  social  morals  in 
Russia,  every  dissatisfied  element  in  the  United  States 
has  seized  upon  it  as  something  of  a  Utopian  nature; 
this  finding  holds  good  as  to  Europe. 

"It  is  interesting  to  note,"  the  Senate  Committee  re- 
ports, "that  every  witness  called  before  the  Committee  as 
a  champion  of  the  cause  of  the  principles  of  the  Russian 
Socialist  Federal  Soviet  Republic  admitted  that  he  or 
she  had  never  read  the  constitution  of  the  (Bolshevist) 
government  of  which  he  was  the  champion."  The  same 
charge  could  be  truthfully  laid  at  the  door  of  most  of 
those  who  oppose  the  Soviet  scheme. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   WORD    BOLSHEVISM    HAS    SEIZED   UPON    THE 
IMAGINATION   OF  THE  WORLD 

I  MET  a  young  American  major  just  back  from  the 
French  front.  Before  the  United  States  entered  the 
war  he  was  one  of  the  many  impatient  at  our  delay.  He 
beheved  it  was  our  duty  to  join  the  fight  when  the  ruth- 
less submarine  campaign  torpedoed  the  Ltisitania, 
sending  to  sea  graves  American  women  and  children.  I 
distinctly  remember  his  face  as  he  read  the  headlines  in 
the  papers  telling  of  the  murderous  slaughter  of  our 
people  on  the  high  seas.  After  his  first  greeting  he 
startled  me  with  "The  war  is  over.  I'm  a  Bolshevik." 
I  did  not  know  what  the  word  meant,  yet  it  carried 
to  my  mind  an  impression,  and,  while  the  impression 
was  hazy,  it  was  clear  at  least  in  one  particular.  It 
sounded  like  the  confession  of  a  crime. 

He  had  always  been  of  a  quiet,  conservative  type. 
Before  the  war  one  would  have  almost  judged  him  a 
pacifist;  he  was  even-tempered,  mild  of  manner,  and  I 
think  that  before  August,  1914,  he  was  a  pacifist  in 
head  and  heart.  It  was  only  the  call  of  a  just  cause, 
the  fight  for  an  ideal  in  which  he  believed,  that  had 
made  him  a  soldier.  In  this  respect  he  was  typical 
of  90  per  cent  of  his  countrymen. 

67 


68  THE  NEW  WORLD 

I  had  spoken  to  him  the  day  he  enHsted.  He  was  one 
of  those  who  volunteered,  who  might  have  waited  for 
conscription  and  claimed  a  just  exemption.  He  was  in 
the  beginning  of  his  married  life,  with  two  very  young 
children.  By  profession  he  was  an  engineer.  Going  to 
war  meant  leaving  a  wife  and  two  babies,  leaving  a  job 
that  promised  advancement.  I  recall  his  enthusiasm, 
the  intensity  of  his  patriotism,  his  quiet  disregard  of  the 
danger  to  himself.  I  am  sure  that  there  was  little  hate 
in  his  make-up.  He  saw  a  danger  to  the  world.  The 
honor  of  his  country  had  been  offended.  He  was  an 
American,  one  of  those  upon  whom  the  duty  fell,  so  he 
went. 

He,  a  Bolshevik!  Why?  I  was  confounded,  con- 
fused. The  only  meaning  I  gave  to  his  remark  was 
that  he  was  an  anarchist.  The  word  "Bolshevik" 
sounded  "Red"  to  me.  It  flared  of  the  torch,  photo- 
graphed disorder,  lawlessness — it  registered  blood,  vio- 
lence, assassination,  force,  hate,  insanity.  I  wondered 
how  this  word  had  become  the  vehicle  for  so  many 
sensations  that  disturbed  peace  of  mind  and  sounded 
alarm. 

From  whence  had  the  word  come  and  what  company 
had  it  kept  that  so  fouled  its  soul?  What  did  it  really 
mean — had  it  a  definite  meaning  ?  Was  it  a  bug  like  the 
"flu"  germ?  Had  it  come  among  nations  to  destroy  them 
and  to  the  hearts  of  men  to  silence  the  message.  "Peace 
on  earth,  good  will  to  men."  Would  it  run  around  the 
world  as  a  scourge?  Was  it  a  postscript  to  the  bloody 
war  lesson,  prophesying  more  anguish  and  tears  than  four 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  IMAGINATION        69 

years'  fighting  had  brought?  Would  the  world,  coming 
out  of  the  war  bent,  now  be  broken? 

Or  was  it  meaningless  myth?  Was  the  word  a  bogie, 
a  bad  joke,  a  nightmare  pressing  heavily  on  a  tired, 
nervous  world's  head? 

Or  was  the  meaning  that  men  had  read  into  the  word 
a  lie?  Was  Bolshevism  the  message  of  a  new  Messiah 
being  cried  down  by  the  money-changers  of  our  time 
in  the  same  way  their  ancestors  had  silenced  the  word 
from  the  Mount  and  destroyed  the  Message  Bearer  with 
the  lash  and  the  cross? 

In  every  mind  was  the  thought  and  from  every  tongue 
fell  the  word.  Russia  had  given  the  world  a  word.  It 
had  encircled  the  globe.  Everywhere  people  were 
speaking  the  word — it  found  a  place  in  every  language. 
Its  use  had  become  universal.  The  old,  the  young,  rich 
and  poor,  the  learned,  the  uneducated,  the  serious,  the 
simple,  the  toiler,  the  artist,  the  poet,  and  the  peddler, 
the  tinker  and  the  thinker,  held  the  thought  and  spoke 
the  word.  Men,  women  and  children  spoke  the  word, 
read  the  word,  and  felt  the  thought  it  carried. 

To  the  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  it  was  a  word 
of  ill-omen,  a  word  of  terror  and  fear.  To  the  one  in 
a  thousand  it  was  a  word  of  hope,  a  light  for  the  feet 
of  a  stumbling  world.  The  999  said  that  some  of  these 
people  called  Bolsheviki  were  dreamers  of  a  strange 
dream,  that  twisted  idealism  had  made  them  mad,  that 
the  majority  of  those  who  profess  faith  in  Bolshevism 
were  sick  with  a  strange,  social  fever,  that  they  were 


70  THE  NEW  WORLD 

mischief-makers,  ne'er-do-wells,  criminals,  that  they 
sought  to  burn  the  world. 

The  dictionary  definition  threw  no  light  on  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word.  I  decided  that  to  learn  what  Bolshevism 
is  I  might  with  wisdom  adopt  the  scientific  method  used 
by  the  doctor  of  medicine  in  arriving  at  a  diagnosis.  The 
doctor  examines  and  gathers  the  symptoms,  the  mean- 
ing of  the  disease.  He  then  determines  what  diseases 
might  produce  these  symptoms.  By  a  process  of  elim- 
ination he  discards  one  possibility  after  another  until 
at  last  there  is  but  one  disease  left,  one  thing  that  the 
symptoms  can  mean. 

Most  of  us  have  the  habit  of  using  terms  loosely. 
Seldom  do  we  give  time  or  thought  to  the  exact,  real 
meaning  of  things.  The  meaning  of  Bolshevism  is  too 
important  to  the  world  not  to  try  to  understand  it. 
There  is  a  difference  between  having  the  acquaintance  of 
a  word  and  knowing  it ;  the  former  is  a  mere  intro- 
duction, the  latter  an  intimacy. 

The  word  Bolshevism  has  become  an  epithet,  a  popu- 
lar invective,  a  slur,  an  insult,  an  outlet  for  contempt, 
contumely  and  hate.  Its  parentage  influences  our  defin- 
ition of  it.  Most  of  us  see  the  Russians  with  the  eyes 
of  the  caricaturists,  who  for  so  many  years  have  por- 
trayed the  Russian  as  the  moujik  with  high  boots,  di- 
sheveled hair,  wild  whiskers,  the  face  of  an  assassin,  the 
body  of  a  terrorist  in  action,  the  suggestion  of  a  long 
dagger  smeared  with  hot  blood,  under  his  great  coat. 

Since  the  war,  when  the  fastidious  diner  wearily  orders 
his  consomme  and  the  waiter  brings  it  a  bit  tardily  or 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  IMAGINATION        71 

cold,  he  thinks  to  himself  or,  if  courageous  enough  to 
speak  his  mind,  he  calls  the  cook  a  Bolshevik.  He  has 
found  a  word  to  express  his  irritation.  It  serves  hia 
profane  feelings  and  at  the  same  time  saves  his  smug 
respectability. 

Once  the  maid  asking  for  an  afternoon  off  provoked 
a  knowing  smile.  Her  mistress  granted  the  request, 
charged  it  up  to  a  possible  romance  and  generally  sus- 
pected the  policeman  on  the  beat.  Since  the  war  it  is 
different.  The  maid  is  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  Her 
motives  are  questioned.  The  request  is  considered  a 
symptom  of  the  new  terrible  disease,  Bolshevism.  The 
mistress  thinks  to  herself:  "The  maid  doesn't  want  to 
work  any  more;  she  is  down  with  the  epidemic." 

The  office  boy,  working  the  reliable  excuse  that  his 
grandmother  had  died  again,  to  get  an  afternoon  off 
to  go  to  the  ball  game,  is  trying  to  shirk  work,  in  the 
opinion  of  his  employer,  who  formerly,  when  such  an 
application  was  made  from  the  same  source,  chuckled 
as  he  granted  it,  while  his  memory  took  him  back 
to  his  own  boyhood  days  when  he  used  the  grandmother 
yarn  to  answer  the  call  of  the  ball  field. 

Many  captains  of  industry  see  the  symptoms  of  the 
new  dread  in  every  movement  and  thought  of  the  work- 
ers. The  demand  for  living  conditions  and  decent  wages 
are  grudgingly  received  by  minds  soured  with  the 
thought  that  it  is  Bolshevism. 

The  hirers  of  child  labor,  looking  hatefully  at  legis- 
lation designed  to  end  child  slavery,  call  the  leaders 
of   child   life   conservation,    Bolsheviki.     When   doctors 


'J2  THE  NEW  WORLD 

and  public-spirited  men  and  women  insist  that  an  irrep- 
arable injury  is  being  done  the  nation  in  allowing 
women  to  work  for  a  period  in  excess  of  the  hours 
they  are  able  to  work  without  menacing  their  mother- 
hood, the  profiteers  from  woman  labor  cry  out :  "You  are 
invading  the  right  of  private  contract ;  you  are  mad  with 
Bolshevism." 

The  wag  with  the  wit  of  a  barber  defines  Bolshevism 
as  a  wild  idea  surrounded  by  whiskers.  The  saloon- 
keeper, bowled  over  by  prohibition,  screams  "Bolshe- 
vism." The  anti-saloon  leaders  come  back  with  the 
answer,  "Your  'personal  liberty'  cry  is  only  a  camouflage 
for  Bolshevism." 

If  any  one  disagrees  with  you,  don't  grant  him  the 
right  to  an  opinion,  don't  reason  with  him — just  call 
him  a  Bolshevik. 

If  a  doctor,  making  an  examination  of  all  of  the 
patients  in  a  hospital,  discovered  they  all  had  certain 
symptoms  in  common,  such  as  temperature,  weakness 
and  pain,  and  because  of  these  findings  should  diagnose 
the  sickness  of  all  of  the  patients  as  pneumonia,  the 
doctor  would  be  regarded  a  lunatic,  yet  there  are 
men  in  the  world  to-day  who  are  as  foolish  as  such  a 
doctor  would  be.  They  call  every  symptom  of  unrest, 
without  regard  to  its  history,  Bolshevism. 

BOLSHEVISM   IS   SOCIALISM   PLUS   FORCE 

If  I  were  asked  to  name  the  principal  cause  for  the 
growing  unrest  my  answer  would  be  Bolshevism.  The 
almost  universal  attitude  of  big  business  toward  Rus- 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  IMAGINATION         73 

sian  Bolshevism — an  attitude  adopted  by  most  of  the 
governments  of  Europe — has  been,  and  is,  Kill  it;  don't 
waste  time  examining  it ;  it  isn't  worth  trying  to  under- 
stand ;  no  good  can  come  of  it ;  it  must  be  fought ;  it  isn't 
entitled  to  a  trial.  Reams  of  paper  have  been  used  to 
assail  it.  Captains  of  industry  and  government  ofBcials 
have  vied  with  each  other  in  making  assault  on  it.  Many 
who  oppose  Bolshevism  are  indignant  if  you  ask  them 
what  it  is  and  why  they  oppose  it.  They  characterize  it, 
attack  it,  resent  it,  discuss  it  without  throwing  any  light 
on  the  subject.  Absurd  lies  have  been  told  about  Bolshe- 
vism. Later  these  unnecessary  lies  have  been  exploded, 
with  the  result  that  suspicion  has  been  bred,  unrest  fed. 
The  effect  upon  the  workers  has  been  to  increase  hate 
for  their  employers  and  destroy  an  already  weakened 
faith  in  government. 

Whether  Bolshevism  is  right  or  wrong,  whether  it  is  a 
good  thing  or  a  bad  thing,  it  is  at  least  a  definite  political 
plan,  worthy  of  being  examined,  measured,  weighed  and 
tested.  It  is  entitled  to  a  hearing  on  its  merits.  It  can- 
not be  howled  down  in  abuse. 

Leaders  in  the  campaign  against  it  frequently  and 
confusingly  define  it  as  anarchy.  If  there  is  one 
thing  that  Bolshevism  is  not,  it  is  anarchy.  Much  con- 
troversy will  be  avoided,  many  differences  of  opinion 
dissolved  if  we  once  come  to  a  fair  and  open  under- 
standing of  the  Bolshevist  program.  We  are  too  prone 
to  form  opinions  without  information,  rush  to  judg- 
ments without  understanding,  and  then  stubbornly  close. 


74  THE  NEW  WORLD 

our  minds.  Much  of  the  discord  and  strife  of  life 
in  big  things,  as  well  as  in  little  matters,  is  due  to  this 
habit.  Anarchy  is  not  criminal  lawlessness.  This  is  the 
popular  misconception  of  the  term.  Say  "anarchist" 
and  the  average  man  or  woman  thinks  of  a  bomb- 
thrower,  a  dynamiter,  a  firebrand.  Such  a  man  is  not  an 
anarchist;  he  is  a  terrorist,  a  criminal,  a  destructionist, 
a  murderer. 

Anarchism  is  an  old  and  respectable  philosophy.  The 
anarchist  is  an  individualist.  He  is  in  favor  of  a  free 
life  for  the  individual.  He  is  opposed  to  turning  over 
the  individual's  power  to  the  state.  He  argues  that 
great  power  delegated  to  government  limits  the  growth 
and  freedom  of  the  individual.  He  dreams  of  an  ideal 
state  in  which  human  beings  will  be  so  perfect  they 
need  no  law.  His  doctrine  is  an  enlargement,  and  exag- 
geration of  the  idea  that  the  government  which  governs 
least  governs  best.  He  isn't  a  lawbreaker.  He  is  a  law 
abolisher.  He  reasons  that  when  murder  leaves  the 
human  heart  there  will  be  no  occasion  for  laws  against 
killing;  that  the  statute  against  murder  is  only  printed 
words  on  the  page  of  a  law  book,  utterly  and  entirely 
without  meaning,  or  existence  to  the  man  who  is  incap- 
able of  killing  his  fellow  man.  The  anarchist  says,  that 
we  should  develop  our  artistic  and  moral  sides  and  by 
evolution  gradually  repeal  one  law  after  another  until  all 
law  disappears.  It  is  pure  idealism — it  is  a  movement 
toward  perfection.  It  is  the  millennium.  It  is  poetry. 
Kipling  wrote  its  constitution  when  he  wrote : 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  IMAGINATION        75 

And  only  the  Master  shall  praise  us, 

And  only  the  Master  shall  blame, 
And  no  one  shall  work  for  money, 

And  no  one  shall  work  for  fame, 
But  each  for  the  joy  of  working. 

Each  in  his  separate  star 
Shall  draw  the  Thing  as  he  sees  it 

For  the  God  of  Things  as  They  Are. 

Few  people  will  contend  that  this  theory  is  anything 
more  than  a  beautiful  dream.  Probably  the  first  and 
greatest  of  the  anarchists  was  the  great  Greek  philoso- 
pher Zeno,  from  Crete,  the  founder  of  the  stoic  philoso- 
phy, who  died  270  years  B.  C.  It  is  disturbing  to  find 
dynamiters  called  anarchists,  and  in  the  same  breath 
hear  included  some  of  the  greatest  idealists  that  have 
ever  trod  the  earth.  The  very  mention  of  the  two 
types  in  the  same  class  gives  respectability  to  the  totally 
ugly,  depraved,  ignorant,  lawless  criminal. 

I  went  to  a  standard  authority  for  a  comon-sense 
definition  of  Bolshevism.  I  was  in  Prague  on  my  way 
to  the  Bolshevist  front.  I  spent  an  afternoon  with 
President  Thomas  G.  Masaryk  of  the  new  Czecho- 
Slovakian  repubHc.  He  is  a  Slav.  He  knows  Russia. 
He  was  in  Russia  during  the  revolution  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  counter-revolution  which  put  Bolshevism 
in  the  saddle.  He  has  written  of  Russia  and  is  a 
recognized  authority  on  the  subject.  I  asked  him, 
"What  is  Bolshevism?"  His  answer  was:  ''Bolshevism 
is  consistent  socialism." 

Bolshevism  is  an  old,  untried  theory  of  government. 


y6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Its  object  is  to  secure  a  greater  production  and  a 
more  just  distribution.  Socialism  says  that  men  are 
without  motive  for  efficient  work  to-day  because  they  do 
not  get  a  fair  share  of  the  things  they  produce;  that 
the  way  to  stimulate  production  is  to  adopt  common 
ownership.  Under  such  a  plan,  it  is  claimed  every  man 
would  be  working  for  himself,  in  the  sense  that  all  would 
be  working  for  the  state,  and  that  as  all  are  an  equal 
part  of  the  state  their  interests  would  be  common  and 
mutual.  The  Socialist  says  if  all  the  people  of  the 
world  were  at  work  they  could  produce  an  abundance 
of  everything  necessary  for  the  world's  happiness  and 
comfort,  every  one  would  have  all  he  needed,  no  one 
would  have  more  than  another  and  it  would  be  to  the 
interests  of  each  individual  to  work  to  shorten  his  own 
workday. 

The  program  of  socialism  promises  the  destruction 
of  all  private  ownership.  There  will  be  no  such  thing 
as  private  property.  No  one  will  own  land.  The  land, 
the  factories,  the  railroads,  the  mines,  everything,  will 
be  owned  in  common.  The  state  will  hold  title  to 
everything,  manage  everything  and  distribute  the  prod- 
uct. This  plan  abolishes  profits,  rent  and  private 
capitalism. 

To  understand  this  doctrine  it  is  necessary  to  clearly 
know  the  meaning  of  the  word  "Capital."  Many  peo- 
ple confuse  the  word  "capital"  with  the  word  "money." 
These  words  have  totally  different  meanings.  Money  is 
the  metal  or  paper  used  by  a  government  to  make  easy 
the  exchange  of  products.     Without  money  the  world 


BOLSHEVISM  AND  IMAGINATION        -JJ 

would  go  back  to  the  barter  system,  in  which  the  man  who 
had  corn  traded  it  for  meat,  clothes,  and  the  others 
things  he  needed.  Capital  is  the  unconsumed  product 
of  labor.  In  other  words,  all  of  the  food,  cloth,  clothing, 
machinery,  etc.,  in  the  world  is  its  capital,  just  as  a  man's 
capital  is  the  food  he  has  in  the  cupboard,  the  clothes 
he  hasn't  worn  out,  the  money  in  the  bank  which  rep- 
resents a  power  to  buy.  It  is  the  surplus.  It  is  the 
reserve. 

Plato,  the  Greek  philosopher,  was  one  of  the  first 
socialists.  In  the  republic  of  Plato  there  is  a  defense  of 
state  socialism.  From  Plato  to  Lenin  men  have  been 
urging  communism  as  a  cure  for  the  ills  of  the  world, 
as  a  remedy  for  wrong,  as  a  means  of  realizing  exact 
justice. 

Modem  socialism  dates  from  the  "Communist  Mani- 
festo," published  in  1848,  by  Karl  Marx  and  Frederick 
Engels.  Their  outline  of  the  socialist  plan  seized  upon 
the  thought  of  the  world.  Since  that  day  it  has  been 
gathering  the  dissatisfied  of  the  world  and  grouping 
them  in  a  class,  developing  what  they  term  a  "class 
consciousness."  Back  of  it  has  been  an  insistent,  unin- 
terrupted propaganda  which  has  reached  all  comers  of 
the  globe.  Billions  of  leaflets,  pamphlets,  tracts  and 
books  have  been  circulated.  Millions  of  speeches  have 
been  made.  Drawing-rooms  have  been  thrown  open 
to  it,  highbrows  have  professed  the  faith,  lowbrows  have 
thundered  the  creed  from  soapboxes  on  the  street  comers. 
It  has  flourished  best  in  Europe.  It  has  furnished  prime 
ministers.    Its  voice  to-day  in  the  parliaments  of  Europe 


78  THE  NEW  WORLD 

is  not  a  whisper — it  is  a  shout.  In  the  new  governments 
which  have  come  out  of  the  war  it  is  a  militant,  dominant 
factor. 

The  Bolshevism  of  Russia  is  pure  socialism — literal 
communism.  At  this  juncture  I  am  not  writing  of  the 
methods  of  the  Bolsheviki.  First,  I  want  to  make  clear 
and  simple  their  plan.  Bolshevism  is  an  effort  to  put 
Into  practice  the  doctrine  preached  by  Plato,  pro- 
grammed by  Marx. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  TEST 

Advocates  of  the  "Red  flag"  remedy  have  been  de- 
manding a  trial,  a  test.  The  demand  has  been  growing. 
Before  they  can  be  silenced  they  must  be  shown.  Out  of 
the  test  of  socialism  in  Russia  is  bound  to  come  good. 
Whether  the  theory  is  practical  or  not,  putting  it  to  the 
test  will  answer  the  question,  satisfy  the  demand,  and 
tend  to  quiet  unrest. 

The  fair-minded  investigator  must  acknowledge  there 
was  justification  and  reason  in  trying  the  remedy.  That 
the  world  has  been  suffering  from  poverty  cannot  be  de- 
nied. I  have  found  few  men  even  among  the  conserva- 
tive, responsible  leaders  of  business  and  governments  in 
Europe  unwilling  to  admit  that  conditions  before  the 
war  were  not  right;  that  many  changes  were  inevitable; 
that  the  dissatisfied  elements  in  society  were  coming  to- 
gether and  that  unless  men  were  given  better  lives,  they 
were  determined  to  fight.  The  working  man  was  de- 
teriorating physically  under  the  strain  of  brutal  working 
conditions  which  exacted  too  many  units  of  physical 
energy  for  the  number  of  calories  of  food  he  was  get- 
ting. The  hemoglobin  count,  the  red  corpuscles,  were 
disappearing  from  the  blood  of  the  working  people.     It 

79 


So  THE  NEW  WORLD 

was  not  a  theory ;  one  could  see  it  in  the  faces  and  move- 
ments of  the  people.  Medical  men  recognized  the  fact. 
A  walk  through  the  poorer  district  of  any  industrial 
city  in  Europe  furnished  plenty  of  evidence  of  this 
alarming  condition.  Men,  women  and  children  were 
resorting  to  false  stimulants  to  keep  up.  Tea,  coffee 
and  alcohol  were  being  used  in  increasing  amounts. 

Men  were  stretching  their  arms  and  yawning.  Squalor 
and  filth  reeked  in  the  homes.  Many  lived  in  abject 
poverty,  many  more  lived  on  the  border  line  of  the 
garbage  alley.  Few  were  able  to  garner  even  the  small- 
est surplus.  It  had  become  a  hand-to-mouth  existence, 
a  fight  to  meet  the  grocery  bills,  buy  stockings,  shoes,  and 
the  scant  amount  of  clothes  to  cover  their  bodies.  It 
was  bread  and  coffee  for  breakfast,  bread  and  tea  for 
dinner,  tea  and  cheese  for  supper.  Sausage  sometimes 
took  turns  with  cheese.  Once  a  week,  the  Sunday  repast, 
a  stew — a  few  vegetables  and  a  bone.  In  the  Latin 
countries  it  was  the  same,  except  that  diluted  cheap  wine 
substituted  for  tea.  Men  found  themselves  poorer  and 
older  at  the  end  of  the  week  than  they  were  at  its  begin- 
ning. Over  the  workingman's  head  suspended  night  and 
day  by  a  thin,  weak  thread,  the  dreaded  sword  of  pov- 
erty. The  thread  might  break  at  any  minute.  It  was 
the  thread  by  which  they  held  the  thing  called  a  "job." 
What  did  they  care  about  the  rights  of  private  property? 
They  didn't  have  any  private  property.  The  Socialists 
had  willing  listeners  when  they  ranted  of  communism. 
It  promised  to  give  these  people  property,  to  give  them 
a  common  ownership  of  everything.     It  wasn't  hard  to 


THE  TEST  8i 

convince  propertyless  workingmen  that  this  was  better 
than  ownership  of  nothing. 

The  Bolsheviki  of  Russia  are  entitled  to  the  presump- 
tion of  good  faith  in  selecting  the  Marxian  formula.  It 
is  only  fair  to  them,  and  to  the  remedy,  to  examine  the 
experiment  with  a  mind  free  from  prejudice.  In  admit- 
ting the  good  intentions  of  the  Bolsheviki  I  am  not  con- 
ceding that  Bolshevism  is  practicable,  workable ;  that 
it  has  succeeded  or  can  succeed.  For  the  present  I  am 
trying  to  give  fairly  the  whole  story  of  the  effort.  It  is 
as  foolish  to  try  to  answer  the  Bolshevist  propaganda  by 
calling  the  Bolsheviki  ugly  names,  as  it  would  be  stupid 
to  accept  Bolshevism  because  its  advocates  are  sincere. 

Russia  is  the  patient.  If  we  are  to  intelligently  judge 
the  treatment  called  Bolshevism,  it  is  necessary  to  get  a 
complete  history  of  the  patient  and  examine  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  experiment  was  tried.  Any  doctor 
who  is  a  scientist  would  follow  such  a  procedure  in 
handling  a  medical  case.  If  a  doctor  announced  to  the 
scientific  world  that  he  had  a  remedy  for  cancer,  which 
at  the  present  time  is  an  incurable  physical  disease,  just 
as  poverty  is  a  social  one,  the  scientists  would  give  a 
hearing  to  his  theory,  seek  a  fair  test  for  it,  keep  their 
minds  open,  and  judge  the  efificacy  of  the  remedy  by  the 
results  produced.  Communism,  as  a  treatment,  a  cure  for 
poverty,  has  never  been  put  to  the  test  on  a  scale  and  in 
circumstances  which  justify  any  positive  judgment  as  to 
whether  or  not  the  plan  is  practical.  As  I  have  already 
written,  the  Russian  Bolsheviki  insist  that  if  every  one 
owns  everything  in  common  there  can  be  no  poverty. 


82  THE  NEW  WORLD 

They  base  this  statement  on  their  faith  that  communism 
will  increase  production,  claiming  that  competition 
shackles  production.  According  to  their  analysis  the 
competitive  system  takes  from  the  individual  the  induce- 
ment to  work — communism  would  give  him  an  incentive 
to  work ;  it  would  be  a  stimulant ;  under  it,  men  would 
work  better  and  produce  more.  Russian  Bolsheviki  fur- 
ther declare  that  the  present  system  is  bound  to  provoke 
an  increasing  number  of  strikes  and  that  strikes  stop 
production,  cause  waste,  increase  poverty.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  there  could  be  no  poverty  in  the  socialistic 
state  if  communism  succeeded  in  stimulating  men  to 
work  harder,  thus  greatly  increasing  production,  because 
there  would  be  more  to  eat,  more  to  wear,  more  to  use, 
and  as  the  distribution  would  be  controlled  by  the  state, 
all  of  the  people  would  receive  an  equal  share  of  the  great 
abundance,  all  would  have  enough.  For  the  sake  of 
fairness  I  am  conceding  that  the  distribution  program 
would  be  honestly  and  justly  carried  out,  but  a  better 
distribution,  a  more  equal  and  just  division  would  mean 
nothing  unless  the  first,  the  fundamental  promise  of  Bol- 
shevism— greater  production — is  fulfilled.  Any  plan 
which  decreases  production  causes  a  shortage  of  the 
things  necessary  to  life.  If  the  Bolsheviki  are  wrong 
in  their  belief  that  communism  will  increase  production, 
then  Bolshevism  would  make  poverty  general,  universal, 
and  instead  of  Bolshevism  curing  the  cancer  on  the  body 
of  civilization,  it  would  make  the  entire  body  of  civili- 
zation a  cancer.  If  the  claims  of  Bolshevism  are  well 
founded,  sound  in  common  sense,  capable  of  fulfillment. 


THE  TEST  83 

communism  would  be  the  greatest  blessing  ever  con- 
ferred upon  humanity.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Bol- 
sheviki  are  wrong,  and  communism  took  from  them  the 
inducement  to  work,  then  notwithstanding  all  the  good 
intentions  of  the  Bolsheviki,  their  communism  would  be 
the  greatest  scourge  the  world  has  known.  This  is  the 
simple  issue.  If  Bolshevism  is  the  good  thing  its  advo- 
cates say  it  is,  it  will  bring  the  millennium,  and  every 
human  being  should  favor  it.  But  if  impractical  and 
unworkable,  then  it  is  a  danger,  the  "Red"  flag  is  its 
proper  signal,  and  the  world  should  avoid  the  danger  sig- 
nal as  an  engineer  charged  with  the  safety  of  human  life 
would  avoid  running  by  a  red  light  on  the  track  ahead. 

Going  back  to  the  doctor  who  honestly  and  sincerely 
believes  he  has  a  cure  for  cancer,  let  us  consider  what 
a  scientist's  world  would  demand  before  offering  a  judg- 
ment as  to  the  value  of  his  proposed  cure.  First,  they 
would  free  their  minds  of  all  prejudice.  They  would  be 
reasonable  and  patient  as  they  would  be  thorough  in 
examining  the  proposed  remedy  from  every  possible 
angle.  They  would  analyze  the  formula,  examine  it  in 
the  light  of  experience.  Why  should  we  not  follow  the 
same  sensible  plan  in  considering  Bolshevism?  We 
shall  get  farther  if  we  do.  Why  should  some  of  us 
accept  it  without  knowing  what  it  is?  Why  should 
others  condemn  it  without  understanding?  And 
why  should  both  these  groups  get  excited  and  irri- 
tated, and  add  to  the  world's  unrest? 

I  purpose  to  follow  the  method  of  the  scientist,  as 


84  THE  NEW  WORLD 

nearly  as  possible,  in  examining  Russia,  the  Patient; 
the  world  cancer,  Poverty;  the  remedy,  Bolshevism. 

First,  a  history  of  the  patient. 

Second,  the  formula — the  remedy. 

Third,  the  methods  used  in  applying  the  remedy. 

Fourth,  the  history  sheets  showing  the  effect  of  the 
treatment  upon  the  patient. 

Fifth,  the  condition  of  the  patient  after  thirty  months' 
treatment. 

SOCIALISM  FROM  PLATO  TO  MARX 

For  nearly  four  hundred  years  Russia  waited  for 
morning.  It  was  a  terrible  night.  Brutal  dreams  tor- 
tured her.  She  writhed  in  despair.  Time  moved  slowly. 
The  clock  ticked  agonies.  The  air  was  thick  with 
groans.  Motherhood  bore  slaves.  The  cradle  was  a 
coffin.  Feast  days  were  celebrated  by  massacres.  Czarg 
from  Ivan  the  Terrible,  1554,  to  Nicholas,  the  last  of 
the  Romanoffs,  executed  in  1918,  used  the  bodies  and 
souls  of  human  beings  as  manure  to  fertilize  the  soil  in 
which  grew  the  rank  weed  of  imperialism.  History  calls 
them  emperors,  truth  labels  them  brutes,  torturers,  mur- 
derers. 

It  was  a  lightless  day,  a  hopeless  night,  for  the  Rus-, 
sians,  which  began  with  the  curses  of  Ivan  and  ended 
with  the  execution  of  Nicholas.  During  this  night  of 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  its  people  marched 
the  treadmill.  It  was  an  endless  tramp  of  feet.  In  the 
dark,  great  bodies  swayed  with  weariness.  Heavy 
shoulders  bent  forward.     Strong  legs  marked  time  on 


THE  TEST  85 

the  treadmill  steps.  They  kept  time  to  the  lash  of  the 
whip.  It  laid  bare  their  backs,  the  backs  of  young  and 
old,  of  women  and  children  as  well  as  men.  Sweat 
formed  into  red  froth  as  it  mingled  with  their  blood. 
They  grew  blind  in  the  dungeon  darkness.  They  stum- 
bled and  halted,  only  to  be  called  back  to  the  monotony 
and  drudgery  of  the  tramp  by  the  lash  and  the  bludgeon. 
Their  legs  rose  and  fell — ^they  marched,  but  never  for- 
ward. It  was  left,  right,  left,  right ;  tramp,  tramp,  and 
always  on  the  treadmill  steps  in  the  hopeless  dark.  They 
mumbled  prayers,  but  God  couldn't  hear;  the  curses  of 
their  masters  drowned  out  their  petitions.  It  was  so 
dark  in  the  treadmill  that  even  God  could  not  see,  and 
so  God  forgot  Russia.  Forgotten,  abandoned,  they  bent 
their  weary  backs  toward  the  sod,  the  grave  offered 
rest — it  was  kind.  The  only  thing  they  owned  was  their 
pains.  They  lived  a  communism  of  suffering,  a  social- 
ism of  slavery. 

The  revolution  of  1917  battered  down  the  door  of  the 
treadmill.  Seized  with  wild  joy,  they  madly  rushed  to- 
ward the  light.  In  the  open,  they  saw  the  sky  and  sun, 
they  were  bewildered.  In  the  fury  of  delight  they  rushed 
on.  It  isn't  strange,  that  eyes  blinded  by  ages  of  dark- 
ness blinked  in  the  light.  It  isn't  surprising  that  they 
tried  to  reach  the  center  of  the  sun.  Suffering  in  the 
light  is  different  from  suffering  in  the  blackness  the 
Russians  had  known. 

When  their  eyes  became  accustomed  to  the  light  they 
looked  around  to  see  where  they  were — to  learn  what  had 
been  happening  in  the  world. 


86  THE  NEW  WORLD 

They  had  a  task  before  them,  the  building  of  a  free 
man's  house,  a  house  in  the  Hght,  a  house  without  a  dark 
comer.  They  knew  Httle  about  freedom,  except  that 
they  wanted  it  with  all  their  hearts.  Their  experience 
had  been  with  slavery.  They  knew  little  about  the  prac- 
tical work  of  building  a  house  in  which  freedom  might 
live  pure  and  secure. 

They  saw  civilization  and  they  gasped  when  they 
saw  that  its  body  was  covered  with  a  malignant  sore.  It 
was  an  ugly,  festering,  running  sore.  They  learned  its 
name.  It  was  written  in  the  oldest  of  chronicles — it  was 
the  incurable,  horrible  leprosy  of  the  world — poverty. 
They  were  told  that  it  was  the  cause  of  the  thing  religion 
labels  sin,  that  poverty  had  transformed  Christ  images, 
struck  in  clay,  into  hunch-backed  souls,  that  the  sickening 
matter  running  from  sores  caused  the  red  blotches  on 
the  world's  body  known  as  red-light  districts ;  that  other 
effects  were  the  swollen  blackish  blue  boils,  the  tenements 
and  slums.  Even  the  darkness  of  the  treadmill  had  not 
produced  worse. 

They  learned  about  poverty.  They  read  its  autobiog- 
raphy. They  read  how  it  had  robbed  children  of  their 
childhood,  erased  faith  from  the  minds  of  men,  and 
mobilized  women  in  a  dreadful  traffic.  They  learned 
that  much  of  the  thing  called  crime  was  poverty's  work, 
that  normality  and  morality  are  matters  of  education. 
That  to  be  good  requires  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong. 
They  read  that  statesmen  called  poverty  the  problem. 
Reformers  called  it  a  curse  and  became  unpopular  be- 
cause of  their  persistent  attacks  upon  it.    In  the  verdict 


THE  TEST  87 

of  a  thoughtless  world  those  who  fought  poverty  were 
called  long-haired  men  and  short-haired  women.  People 
did  not  stop  to  remember  that  these  long-haired  men  and 
short-haired  women  gave  of  their  time  and  strength  to 
the  poor.  These  who  were  maligned  for  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  first  Lover  of  the  Poor  were  those  who 
cried  out  against  the  tenements,  demanding  for  human 
beings  the  sunshine  and  air  stockmen  give  their  cattle. 
These  unpopular  ones  were  the  same  who  brought  ice  to 
keep  milk  cool  in  the  hot  summer  for  the  children  of  the 
slums;  these  were  the  crusaders  against  child  labor,  the 
protestants  against  working  so  many  hours  each  day  that 
exhaustion  marred  and  marked  the  physical  and  mental 
strength  of  the  children  they  bore. 

So  it  was  that  these  redeemed,  freed  people  of  Russia 
learned  of  the  cancer  and  feared  it  as  much  as  the  thing 
they  had  escaped. 

They  beheld  old-school  politicians  acting  as  doctors  to 
sick  civilization.  These  doctors,  miscalled  statesmen, 
were  agreed  as  to  the  cause  of  the  disease  and  that  the 
symptoms  threatened  death.  Many  prescriptions  had 
been  given  the  patient,  but  none  checked  the  disease. 
These  prescriptions  had  been  various  formulas  of  gov- 
ernment, the  constitutional  monarchy,  a  democracy,  a 
republic.  The  giving  of  these  various  treatments  failed 
to  effect  a  cure.  Civilization  continued  to  suffer.  At 
times  pain  became  unendurable  and  the  doctors  gave 
local  anesthetics.  These  were  the  laws,  included  under 
the  general  designation  "Social  Welfare  Legislation." 
They  made  the  patient  temporarily  more  easy.     They 


88  THE  NEW  WORLD 

allayed  pain  that  might  otherwise  have  produced  convul- 
sions— REVOLUTION. 

And  then  these  Russian  people,  studying  what  to  them 
was  a  new  world,  discovered  that  many  of  these  politica^ 
doctors  were  quacks,  unreliable  and  dishonest,  and  more 
interested  in  their  own  fortunes  than  the  fate  of  the 
patient.  Time  and  thought  were  taken  up  in  holding 
their  jobs,  rather  than  in  doing  the  work.  That  the 
schools  of  political  medicine,  called  political  parties, 
responsible  for  these  doctors,  were  diploma  mills,  graft 
rings  and  that  these  physicians  were  suspected  of  being 
interested  in  keeping  the  patient  sick  and  of  not  making 
an  honest  effort  to  cure.  It  was  rumored  also  that  there 
are  people  in  the  world  who  make  profit  out  of  poverty; 
that  special  privilege  is  the  powerful  profiteer  of  our  day. 

Away  back  in  the  fourth  century  before  Christ,  Plato 
had  written  about  another  remedy.  Its  object  was  to 
cure  poverty.  The  Russians,  seeing  that  the  remedies  in 
common  use  had  failed,  turned  their  thoughts  to  this  old 
theory,  this  untried  remedy.  It  was  an  experiment,  to  be 
be  sure,  but,  "nothing  ventured,  nothing  gained."  Dis- 
ciples of  Marx  argued  that  it  could  not  more  completely 
fail  than  the  remedies  at  present  in  use.  There  was  an 
appeal  in  the  plan,  and  those  who  advocated  it  possessed 
an  enthusiasm  that  was  contagious.  The  formula 
abounded  in  promises. 

And  with  the  revolution  came  into  Russia  one  who 
had  been  exiled.  For  many  years  he  had  been  a  teacher 
and  preacher  of  the  untried  remedy.  Russians  saw  in 
him  a  savior.     He  came  with  a  burning  messge.     His 


THE  TEST  89 

followers  possessed  the  fervor  of  crusaders.  He  preached 
communism,  saying  that  it  alone  could  make  freedom 
secure;  that  it  would  make  them  possessors  of  their 
country,  owners  of  their  homes.  The  words  were  wel- 
come. The  people  listened  and  believed.  They  were  as 
little  children,  so  great  was  their  faith.  To  them  a 
promise  was  a  truth  fulfilled ;  the  word,  a  living  cove- 
nant. The  promise  was  that  the  peasants  would  have 
their  own  lands  and  workingmen  would  be  their  own 
bosses.  It  was  the  word  for  which  they  had  waited, 
the  realization  of  the  dreams  they  had  dreamed.  The 
prophet  had  come.  The  new  day  was  before  them. 
They  rejoiced  and  cried,  "Long  live  the  Messiah!" 
The  man  was  Lenin,  the  message,  communism. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RUSSIA'S   HISTORICAL   BACKGROUND— FROM   RURIK 
TO   NICHOLAS 

Prior  to  the  Eighteenth  century  what  is  now  called 
European  Russia  was  generally  known  as  Muscovy,  tak- 
ing its  name  from  its  ancient  capital,  Moscow.  It  was 
not  until  the  expansion  of  the  empire  in  the  Nineteenth 
century  that  the  word  Russia  was  used  to  designate  the 
European  and  Asiatic  dominions  of  the  Czars.  The 
word  Russia  probably  comes  from  the  Slavonic  word 
"Rus"  derived  from  Ruotsi,  a  Finnish  name  applied  to 
the  Swedes,  meaning  "rowers"  or  "seafarers." 

The  history  of  Russia  begins  with  a  legend.  Nestor 
of  Kiev,  an  old  monkish  chronicler,  tells  the  story.  In 
the  nineteenth  century  Slavs  and  Finns  lived  in  a  tribal 
state  in  the  forest  region  near  Lake  Ilmen,  between  Lake 
Ladoga  and  the  upper  waters  of  the  Dnieper.  Bands  of 
military  adventurers  from  the  land  of  Rus,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  part  of  Sweden,  invaded  the  country 
and  exacted  tribute  from  the  people.  In  the  year  of  859 
the  tribes  rebelled  and  drove  out  the  Northmen.  It  was 
Russia's  first  revolution.  The  freed  Russians  set  to  fight- 
ing among  themselves — civil  war  ravaged  the  land.  Then 
as  to-day  order  was  apparently  the  first  essential  to  peace 

90 


RUSSIA'S  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND         91 

and  prosperity.  After  three  years  of  chaos,  these,  the 
first  Russians  confessed  their  inabihty  to  manage  their 
own  affairs  and  they  sent  a  mission  to  Rus  to  invite  their 
old  masters  to  return  and  rule  over  them. 

According  to  the  legend,  three  brothers,  Princes  of 
Rus,  Rurik,  Sineus  and  Truvor  accepted  and  founded 
a  dynasty  from  which  many  of  the  princes  of  the  present 
day  claim  descent. 

Prince  Rurik  built  his  castle  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Volkhov,  which  with  Lake  Ilmen  formed  part  of  the 
great  waterway  connecting  the  Baltic  and  Black  Seas.  It 
was  over  this  route  that  the  giant  blond  Norsemen  who 
composed  the  famous  Varangian  bodyguard  of  the  By- 
zantine emperors  traveled  from  Scandinavia  to  Constan- 
tinople.    Russia's  first  capital  was  Novgorod. 

These  new  rulers  from  the  land  of  Rus  brought  with 
them  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  the  passion  for  con- 
quest. Not  content  with  ruling  the  tribes  who  had  invited 
them,  they  set  out  to  conquer  the  surrounding  country. 
Before  200  years  had  passed  they  had  successfully  in- 
vaded Byzantine  territory,  established  themselves  as 
chiefs,  threatened  Constantinople  with  a  fleet,  secured  as 
a  consort  a  sister  of  the  Byzantine  emperor  for  one  of 
their  princes,  Vladimir  I,  adopted  Christianity  for  them- 
selves and  their  subjects,  held  in  check  the  nomadic 
hordes  of  the  steppe  and  formed  matrimonial  alliances 
with  the  reigning  families  of  Poland,  Hungary,  Norway 
and  France.  They  became  the  greatest  power  in  East- 
ern Europe. 

They  possessed   an   insatiable  appetite  for  conquest. 


92  THE  NEW  WORLD 

but  lacked  the  power  to  organize  the  territory  they  con- 
quered. Their  genius  was  entirely  military.  They  had 
little  administrative  ability.  The  political  future  of  the 
new  state  was  destroyed  when  the  princes  of  the  Rurik 
dynasty  divided  the  state  into  a  number  of  independent 
principalities.  For  a  time  these  separate  states  were 
weakly  and  loosely  held  together  by  the  patriarchal  au- 
thority of  the  senior  member  of  the  reigning  family,  the 
Grand  Prince  who  ruled  in  Kiev.  Family  quarrels  were 
frequent  and  finally  all  alliance  between  the  independent 
states  was  destroyed.  These  princes  were  strong  men. 
They  wanted  individual  power.  The  authority  of  the 
Grand  Prince  in  Kiev  stood  in  the  way  of  their  ambi- 
tions. With  the  death  of  Yaroslav  the  Great  in  1054 
family  feuds  multiplied  and  the  complete  disintegration 
of  the  nation  began.  During  the  next  170  years,  from 
1054  to  1224,  Russia  was  split  into  over  sixty  principali- 
ties. Disputes  over  the  question  of  succession  led  to 
eighty-three  civil  wars. 

During  these  interminable  struggles  between  rival 
princes,  Kiev,  which  had  been  so  long  the  residence  of 
the  Grand  Prince,  was  repeatedly  taken  by  storm  and 
ruthlessly  pillaged.  Finally  the  whole  valley  of  the 
Dneiper  fell  a  prey  to  the  marching  tribes  of  the  steppe. 
Russian  colonization  and  political  influence  retreated 
northward,  and  from  that  time  the  continuous  stream  of 
Russian  history  is  found  in  the  land  where  the  Vikings 
first  settled  and  in  the  adjacent  basin  of  the  upper  Volga. 
Here  new  principalities  were  founded,  some  of  them  no 
longer  acknowledging  allegiance  to  Kiev.    Thus  appeared 


RUSSIA'S  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND         93 

the  Grand  Princes  of  Suzdal,  of  Tver,  of  Ryazan  and 
of  Moscow — all  irreconcilable  rivals.  The  more  ambi- 
tious and  powerful  among  them  aspired,  not  to  succeed 
but  to  subdue  the  others  and  seize  their  territory. 

The  greatest  of  these  principalities  was  Novgorod. 
Since  the  days  when  Rurik  first  chose  it  as  his  head- 
quarters the  little  capital  on  the  Volkhov  had  grown 
into  a  great  commercial  city  and  brought  under  subjec- 
tion a  vast  expanse  of  territory  stretching  from  the  Bal- 
kan to  the  Ural  Mountains.  Unlike  the  other  Russian 
principalities  it  had  a  democratic  rather  than  a  monarch- 
ical form  of  government.  The  RepubHc  of  Novgorod 
was  the  first  and  only  flicker  of  freedom  in  the  long 
night  of  Russia,  and  it  glowed  but  for  a  short  moment. 

Novgorod  had  a  prince,  but  he  was  engaged  by  formal 
contract.  He  was  merely  the  commander  of  the  troops. 
All  political  power  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  civil 
officials.  The  people  had  set  up  a  popular  assembly 
which  met  in  the  market  place.  It  was  called  into 
session  by  the  tolling  of  the  great  bell.  The  maxim  of 
the  state  was :  "If  the  prince  is  bad,  into  the  mud  with 
him." 

Afifairs  in  Moscow  were  different.  There  the  supreme 
law  was  the  whim  of  the  autocrat.  The  people  were 
slaves.  They  had  no  voice  in  the  government.  Demo- 
cratic Novgorod  and  autocratic  Moscow  became  bitter 
rivals.  The  future  of  Russia*  was  in  the  balance.  The 
issue  was  light  or  darkness,  day  or  night,  freedom  or 
slavery  for  the  future  Russians.  It  is  the  crossroads  in 
Russian  history.     Had  Novgorod  triumphed  in  the  thir- 


94  THE  NEW  WORLD 

teenth  century,  the  world  might  not  have  the  problem  of 
Bolshevism  to-day.  Russians  v^^ould  have  escaped  the 
political  mines  and  dungeons  of  Siberia  which  for  seven 
centuries  have  been  their  birth  destiny.  But  in  the  turn 
of  the  balance  Moscow  and  autocracy  triumphed.  The 
long  Russian  night  came  on. 

The  Tartar  yoke  came.  The  "Golden  Horde"  beat 
Russia  down.  The  invading  conquerers  built  their  cap- 
ital at  .Sari  on  the  lower  Volga.  The  Mongols  merci- 
lessly pillaged  and  robbed  their  Russian  captives.  Tax- 
gatherers  armed  with  bludgeons,  whips  and  swords 
scoured  the  country  and  kept  the  people's  backs  bent  in 
unremitting  toil.  The  Grand  Khan,  the  chief  of  the 
Mongol  Empire,  lived  with  the  "Great  Horde"  in  the 
valley  of  the  Amur  in  Siberia.  From  time  to  time  he 
commanded  the  rulers  of  the  Russian  states  to  pay  him 
homage  and  bring  tribute  to  his  court.  To  him  the  Rus- 
sian princes  were  despised  puppets.  The  journeys  of 
these  subject  Russian  princes  to  Siberia,  blazed  the  trail 
and  opened  the  cruel  route  which  was  later  destined  to 
play  such  an  important  part  in  the  horrors  of  Russian 
history. 

The  first  wayfarers  on  this  road  were  Russian  auto- 
crats— princes,  the  degenerate  and  corrupt  descendants 
of  Rurik.  The  prince  made  his  last  will  and  testament 
and  arranged  his  earthly  affairs  before  he  started  on  the 
cold  black  trail ;  then,  as  later,  few  who  took  the  Siberia 
road  ever  returned. 

The  princes  of  Moscow  sought  favor  at  the  Mongol 
Court  by  bribery  and  sycophancy.    They  more  than  car- 


RUSSIA'S  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND         95 

ried  out  the  orders  of  the  Grand  Khan ;  they  outraged  and 
robbed  their  own  subjects  to  satisfy  the  Mongol  Court. 
In  return  for  the  betrayal  of  their  own  people,  these 
princes  of  Moscow  were  made  the  principal  collectors 
and  slave  drivers  by  the  Tartar  Rulers.  The  princes  of 
Moscow  grew  strong  while  the  rest  of  Russia  grew  weak. 
This  is  the  taint  in  the  blood  of  the  Czardom  of  Mus- 
covy. Out  of  this  line,  came  the  Czars.  These  depraved 
Russian  princes  of  Moscow  abided  their  time.  At«the 
battle  of  Kulikovo  in  1380,  the  Mongol  yoke  was  broken. 
Three  Czars — Ivan  3rd,  known  as  "The  Great,"  his 
son  Basil  and  his  grandson  Ivan  4th,  called  "The  Ter- 
rible,"— whose  united  reigns  covered  a  period  of  122 
years,  from  1462  to  1584,  forged  the  shackles  and  fast- 
ened them  on  the  people  of  Russia,  shackles  which 
clanked  until  the  end  of  the  last  of  the  Romanoffs, 
Nicholas. 

THE  CRIME  AGAINST  THE  PEASANTS 

In  talking  with  people  about  Russia,  I  have  discovered 
that  few  in  America  have  more  than  a  faint,  uncertain, 
vague  idea  of  the  country.  Czar  Nicholas,  the  last  of 
the  autocrats,  was  monarch  of  8,660,000  square  miles, 
one-sixth  of  the  entire  land  surface  of  the  earth.  The 
great  Russian  empire  is  spread  over  part  of  two  conti- 
nents, Europe  and  Asia.  It  is  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  cold  and  temperate  zones. 

Three  seas  bound  it  on  the  north — White,  Barents  and 
Kara  of  the  Arctic ;  the  seas  of  Bering,  Okhotsh  and 
Japan  of  the  northern  Pacific  bound  it  on  the  east.    The 


96  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Baltic  sea,  the  gulfs  of  Bothnia  and  Finland  limit  it  on 
the  northwest ;  two  sinuous  lines  of  land  front  separate 
it  respectively  from  Sweden  and  Norway  on  the  north- 
west, and  from  Prussia,  Austria  and  Roumania  on  the 
west.  On  the  south  and  east  the  frontier  has  changed 
frequently,  according  to  the  expansion  and  contraction 
of  the  empire  under  the  pressure  of  political  exigency 
and  expediency.  The  Black  Sea  is  the  principal  demar- 
cating feature  on  the  south  of  European  Russia.  On  the 
west  side  of  that  sea  the  south  frontier  touches  the 
Danube  for  some  120  miles;  on  the  east  side  of  the  same 
sea  it  zigzags  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Caspian,  utilizing 
tlie  river  Aras  for  part  of  the  distance.  As  the  Caspian 
is  virtually  a  Russian  sea,  Persia  may  be  said  to  form 
the  next  link  in  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Russian 
empire,  followed  by  Afghanistan.  On  the  Pamirs,  Rus- 
sia has  since  1885  been  co-terminous  with  British  India, 
but  the  boundary  then  swings  away  north  round  Chinese 
Turkestan,  and  the  north  side  of  Mongolia,  and  since 
1905  it  has  skirted  the  north  of  Manchuria,  being  separ- 
ated from  it  by  the  river  Amur. 

The  total  length  of  the  frontier  line  of  the  Russian 
empire  by  land  is  2,800  miles  in  Europe  and  nearly 
10,000  miles  in  Asia,  and  by  sea,  over  11,000  miles  in 
Europe  and  between  19,000  and  20,000  miles  in  Asia — a 
frontier  of  68,000  miles. 

The  population  of  the  Empire  in  191 5  was  estimated 
at  182,182,600.  This  population  was  distributed  as  fol- 
lows: In  European  Russia,  131,796,800;  in  Poland, 
12,125,000;  in  Caucasus,  13,125,000;  in  Siberia,  12,337,- 


RUSSIA'S  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND         97 

900;  in  the  Central  Asian  Provinces,  11,125,000;  in 
Finland,  3,125,000. 

Three  different  branches  can  be  distinguished  among 
the  Russians,  from  the  dawn  of  their  history: — The 
Great  Russians,  the  Little  Russians  and  the  White  Rus- 
sians. The  primary  distinctions  between  these  branches 
of  the  Russian  people  have  been  increased  during  the  last 
nine  centuries,  by  their  contact  with  different  nationali- 
ties— the  Great  Russians  absorbing  a  Finnish  element ; 
the  Little  Russians  undergoing  an  admixture  of  Turkish 
blood  and  the  White  Russians  submitting  to  Lithuanian 
influence. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Russians  have  ab- 
sorbed and  assimilated  in  the  course  of  their  history, 
numerous  mixed  tribes,  mostly  Mongolian  and  Turkic, 
the  Slav  type  has  been  maintained  with  remarkable  per- 
sistency. Slav  skulls  over  ten  centuries  old,  exhibit  the 
same  anthropological  features  as  those  which  character- 
ize the  Slavs  of  the  present  date. 

Class  distinction  in  Russia  has  always  been  real.  It 
bolted  the  door  of  opportunity  against  the  great  mass  of 
the  people.  They  were  doomed  to  stay  in  their  class ; 
to  remain  a  part  of  the  struggling  sweaty  mass  at  the 
very  bottom  of  life.  81.6  per  cent  of  all  the  Russians 
were  peasants;  6.1  per  cent  military  and  i  per  cent 
nobility. 

Nearly  150,000,000  Russians  are  peasants.  The  land 
is  their  problem — it  means  home  to  them — work,  life. 
They  are  bom  on  it,  they  are  buried  in  it.  One  hope 
alone  has  kept  the  Russian  heart  beating  during  the  ages 


98 


THE  NEW  WORLD 


of  tyranny  and  suffering,  and  that,  the  hope  that  the  day 
would  come  when  he  would  own  his  own  land.  The 
Russian  peasant  has  been  a  stranger  in  his  own  countr}'. 
The  man  who  tills  the  soil  and  lives  on  the  land  and  yet 
never  owns  an  acre  of  it,  is  a  foreigner,  even  though  his 
forebearers  may  have  been  natives' of  the  country  for  cen- 
turies. The  Russian  peasants  have  felt  this  exclusion, 
for  of  all  the  people  of*  the  world,  none  are  more  home 
loving  than  the  Russians.  The  land  question  is  the 
hearth  question  in  Russia ;  land  ownership  is  the  meas- 
ure of  freedom. 

Some  idea  of  the  land  crime  in  Russia  is  told  in  the 
startling  figures  showing  the  actual  distribution  of  arable 
land,  forests  and  meadows  in  European  Russia. 

The  following  table  is  only  one  count  in  the  indict- 
ment: 


Acres 

Percentage 

State  and  Imperial  family 

Peasants 

400,816,000 

446,657,000 

245,835,000 

66,056,000 

35   ^ 

Private  owners,  towns,  etc 

Unfit  for  cultivation 

21 

5K 

1,159,364,000 

100 

Prior  to  the  Revolution  according  to  official  docu- 
ments, the  peasants  were  chained  to  hopeless  poverty. 
Hunger  was  a  fixed  part  of  their  lot.  The  official  figures 
tell  the  story: 

In  the  twelve  central  divisions  of  Russia,  the  peasant 
grows  on  the  average,  sufficient  rye  for  bread  for  only  two 


RUSSIA'S  HISTORICAL  BACKGROUND         99 

hundred  days  in  the  year ;  often  for  only  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  eighty  days. 

Twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  peasants  received  allot- 
ments of  only  2.9  acres  per  male;  half  of  the  people  re- 
ceived less  thaiL  8.5  acres.  The  tragedy  of  land  distribu- 
tion is  understood  at  once,  when  we  realize  that  forty-two 
acres  are  necessary  to  feed  a  family,  but  this  inequitable 
land  distribution  served  a  purpose,  it  compelled  the  pea- 
sants to  rent  land  from  the  landlord.  The  peasant's 
necessity  was  the  landlord's  opportunity,  and  he  exacted 
the  last  drop  of  sweat.  The  rent  made  the  tenant 
peasant,  the  landlord's  helpless  slave.  His  back  was 
kept  bent  by  redemption  and  tax  burdens,  which  often 
reached  from  185  per  cent  to  250  per  cent  of  the  value 
of  the  peasant's  allotment.  In  addition,  the  taxes  for  re- 
cruiting, for  the  churches,  roads  and  local  administration 
were  levied  from  the  peasants,  who,  in  consequence,  got ; 
much  deeper  into  debt  every  year.  The  Russian  peasant 
found  himself  in  a  quicksand;  the  harder  he  worked, 
the  deeper  into  debt  he  went.  In  the  years  prior 
to  the  Revolution,  increasing  arrears  drove  one- 
fifth  of  the  peasants  from  their  homes ;  every  year,  more 
than  fifty  f>er  cent  of  the  adult  males  (in  some  districts 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  men  and  one-third  of  the 
women)  were  forced  from  their  homes  and  compelled  to 
wander  through  Russia  in  search  of  work. 

*In  1 86 1  a  sham  law  was  passed,  which  pretended  to 
emancipate  the  serfs ;  even  under  the  best  landlords,  the 
conditions  of  the  peasants  continued  to  be  brutal.  It  is 
true,  that  household  servants  attached  to  the  personal 


100  THE  NEW  WORLD 

sei-vice  of  masters,  were  released.  Most  of  these  joined 
the  town  proletariat.  It  was  only  as  late  as  1904,  that 
the  landlords  were  forbidden  by  law,  to  inflict  corporal 
punishment  on  the  peasants.  Even  this  law  was  openly 
violated  and  the  practice  of  treating  human  beings  as 
brutes  treat  tired  domestic  animals,  continued.  The 
peasant  was  a  chattel, — the  cheapest  farm  fixture,  there 
were  plenty  of  peasants.  Notwithstanding  the  hardships 
and  the  hunger  in  Russia,  the  population  continued  to 
increase. 

The  family  tie  has  been  strong  in  Russia  and  the  fami- 
lies have  been  banded  together  into  clans,  so  closely  knit 
has  been  the  tie  to  the  tribe  that  Russians  do  not  immi- 
grate as  individuals,  they  migrate  in  whole  villages.  The 
village  community  is  the  heart  of  Russia.  The  Rural 
Commune,  called  the  Mir,  consisted  of  all  the  peasant 
householders  of  the  village.  They  met  and  elected  a  head 
man  and  collector  of  local  taxes.  The  allotments  of 
arable  land  given  to  the  peasants,  were  not  given  to  them 
as  individuals,  but  the  title  was  given  over  to  the  Mir, 
which  was  made  responsible  for  the  payment  of  the 
allotments.  It  was  a  sort  of  land  communism.  The  Mir 
was  a  mortgaged  community;  the  peasant's  blood  and 
soul,  the  security.  The  redemption  charge  was  not  calcu- 
lated on  the  value  of  the  land,  but  was  considered  as 
payment  for  the  loss  by  the  landlords  of  the  compulsory 
labor  of  the  serfs.  The  Mir  was  a  clearing  house  for 
the  peasant's  troubles,  a  socialism  of  sorrows ;  a  touch 
of  self-government  in  suflferings ;  it  provided  a  means  of 
cooperation  in  burden  bearing. 


CHAPTER  IX 
RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE 

Less  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Russia  live 
"permanently"  in  cities  or  towns.  I  write  the  word  "per- 
manently" to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  large  numbers 
of  peasants  and  villagers  come  to  the  cities  and  towns  to 
work  for  a  part  of  the  year  in  the  industries.  They 
retain  their  peasant  status  and  their  domiciles  in  the  vil- 
lages. In  1910  there  were  only  forty  cities  in  the  Rus- 
sian empire  with  a  population  of  from  50,000  to  100,000, 
only  four  cities  with  a  population  of  over  100,000. 

Poverty  forced  upon  the  Russian  people  the  coopera- 
tive spirit.  In  a  great,  long  strain  people  can  stand  up 
together  better  than  alone.  It  is  the  feeling  of  consola- 
tion in  companionship.  It  is  a  principle  of  mass  psychol- 
ogy that  a  group  of  men  will  dare  to  do  a  thing,  to 
stand  a  suffering  or  a  danger  that  no  individual  in  the 
crowd  would  undertake  alone.  One  of  the  oldest  insti- 
tutions of  Russian  life  is  the  artel.  The  artel  very  much 
resembles  the  cooperative  society  of  western  Europe, 
with  this  difference,  that  the  cooperative  society  in  Eu- 
rope as  in  America  is  the  outgrowth  of  an  economic 
trend.  In  Russia  it  was  the  unpremeditated  result  of 
necessity.    It  is  the  difference  between  one  who  is  hungry 

1 01 


102  THE  NEW  WORLD 

because  he  is  dieting  and  one  who  is  starving  because  he 
is  without  food. 

The  workers  of  Russia  have  suffered  the  same  slavery 
the  peasants  have  endured.  The  maximum  wage  has 
been  a  starvation  wage.  So  when  the  working  men  from 
a  province  come  to  a  city  to  work  in  the  textile  indus- 
tries or  as  carpenters,  masons,  etc.,  they  at  once  unite 
in  groups  of  from  ten  to  fifty  persons,  rent  a  house, 
keep  a  common  table,  elect  an  elder  of  the  artel,  to  whom 
each  one  pays  his  share  of  the  expense.  All  over  Russia 
one  finds  the  artel — in  the  cities,  in  the  lumber  camps, 
even  in  the  prisons.  When  a  building  is  to  be  put  up  an 
artel  is  organized.  When  a  railroad  is  being  built  an 
artel  is  formed.  In  some  instances  the  artel  resembles  a 
labor  union,  in  that  the  arrangement  of  the  terms  of 
employment  is  made  by  a  delegate  or  committee  appointed 
by  the  artel. 

Village  life  is  primitive.  The  villagers  live  out  of  the 
world.  The  villages  are  very  small,  particularly  in  the 
extreme  north.  The  houses  are  generally  cheap  wooden 
shanties.  Owing  to  the  great  danger  of  fire,  the  villages 
generally  cover  a  large  area  of  ground.  The  houses  are 
scattered  and  straggHng.  The  conveniences  found  even 
in  the  American  tenements  are  unknown.  There  is  no 
chance  for  cleanliness.  They  live  and  sleep  in  crowded, 
smoky,  unfinished  houses.  Furniture — they  haven't  even 
what  the  poorest  farm  tenant  in  America  would  call  fur- 
nishings.    A  board  for  a  table,  a  shakedown  for  a  bed. 

Russia's  industrial  life  has  always  been  out  of  balance 
with  her  agricultural  life.     Notwithstanding  her  riches 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  103 

in  raw  material  and  her  great  possibilities  for  a  success- 
ful industrial  life,  Russia  has  continued  to  be  a  nation 
with  eighty-one  per  cent  farmers,  seven  or  eight  per  cent 
permanently  engaged  in  industry,  and  three  or  four  per 
cent  of  peasants  who  devoted  part  of  the  time  to  work 
in  the  industries.  It  has  been  said  repeatedly  that  the 
imperial  Russian  government  from  the  time  of  Peter  the 
Great  has  been  unceasing  in  its  efforts  for  the  creation 
and  development  of  home  manufactures.  All  of  the  evi- 
dence I  have  examined  refutes  this  statement.  There 
never  has  been  any  security  to  the  worker  in  Russia. 
The  only  protection  he  has  had,  has  been  his  interest 
in  the  family  allotment.  He  could  go  back  there  and  be 
hungry:  in  the  city  there  was  danger  of  actual  starvation. 

The  Czars  put  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  education 
and  of  course  this  prevented  the  growth  of  industry. 

In  1902  the  principal  industries  in.  Russia,  represent- 
ing all  factories  throughout  the  empire,  of  which  the 
annual  production  was  valued  at  more  than  $1,000,  were 
textiles,  food  products,  animal  products,  wood,  paper, 
chemical  products,  ceramics,  mining,  metal  goods  and 
miscellaneous.  The  combined  number  of  those  employed 
totaled  only  2,259,773. 

This  dwarfed,  stunted,  paralyzed  side  of  Russia — its 
industrial  side — has  a  direct  bearing  upon  conditions  in 
Russia  to-day  and  is  an  important  part  of  the  problem  of 
the  Bolshevist  government. 

A  nation  to  be  economically  normal  must  have  balanced 
agricultural,  manufacturing  and  commercial  sides.  If 
these  three  departments  of  activity  are  not  proportion- 


104  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ately  developed  the  nation  is  economically  a  cripple. 
Russia  has  been  and  is  in  this  sense  an  economic  crip- 
ple. Her  body  is  great  and  powerful ;  the  physical  con- 
stitution is  strong.  One  arm,  agriculture,  is  overdevel- 
oped, and  its  overdevelopment  has  been  at  the  sacrifice 
of  the  other  arm.  A  great  German  economist,  List, 
wrote : 

A  nation  cannot  promote  and  further  its  civilization,  its 
prosperity  and  its  social  progress  equally  as  well  by  ex- 
changing agricultural  products  for  manufactured  goods  as 
by  establishing  a  manufacturing  power  of  its  own.  A  merely 
agricultural  nation  can  never  develop  to  any  extent  a  home 
or  a  foreign  commerce,  with  inland  means  of  transport  and 
foreign  navigation,  increase  its  population  in  due  propor- 
tion to  their  well-being,  or  make  notable  progress  in  its 
moral,  intellectual,  social  and  political  development;  it  will 
never  acquire  important  political  power  or  be  placed  in  a 
position  to  influence  the  cultivation  and  progress  of  less 
advanced  nations  and  to  form  colonies  of  its  own.  A  mere 
agricultural  state  is  infinitely  less  powerful  than  an  agricul- 
tural-manufacturing state.  The  former  is  always  econom- 
ically and  politically  dependent  on  those  foreign  nations 
which  take  from  it  agriculture  in  exchange  for  manufactured 
goods.  It  cannot  determine  how  much  it  will  produce,  it 
must  wait  and  see  how  much  others  will  buy  from  it.  The 
agricultural-manufacturing  states  on  the  contrary  produce 
for  themselves  large  quantities  of  raw  materials  and  provi- 
sions and  supply  merely  the  deficiency  from  importation.  The 
purely  agricultural  nations  are  thus  dependent  for  the  power 
of  effecting  sales  on  the  chances  of  a  more  or  less  bountiful 
harvest  in  the  agricultural-manufacturing  nations.  They 
have,  moreover,  to  compete  in  their  sales  with  other  purely 
agricultural  nations,  whereby  the  power  of  sale  in  itself  is 
uncertain;  they  are  exposed  to  the  danger  of  ruin  in  their 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  105. 

trading  with  agricultural-manufacturing  nations  by  war  or 
new  tariffs,  whereby  they  suffer  the  double  disadvantage  of 
finding  no  buyers  for  their  surphis  agricultural  products  and 
of  failing  to  obtain  supplies  of  the  manufactured  goods  they 
require.  An  agricultural  nation  is  a  man  with  one  arm  who 
makes  use  of  an  arm  belonging  to  another  person  but  cannot, 
of  course,  be  sure  of  having  it  always  available.  An  agri- 
cultural-manufacturing nation  is  a  man  who  has  two  good 
arms  of  his  own  at  his  disposal. 

POLAND  CITED  AS  AN  EXAMPLE 

List  further  points  out  that  the  relative  cultivation  of 
the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  arms  of  a  country- 
possessed  of  an  ample  and  fertile  territory  will  give  that 
country  a  population  twice  to  three  times  as  large  as  it 
could  secure  by  the  development  of  the  agricultural  arm 
alone,  and  maintain  this  vastly  increased  population  in  a 
much  higher  degree  of  comfort.  Surplus  agricultural 
produce  is  not  necessarily  capital  in  an  agricultural  coun- 
try. Countries  which  produce  such  a  surplus  and  remain 
dependent  upon  manufacturing  countries  are  often 
obliged  to  purchase  these  manufactured  goods  at  an  en- 
hanced price.  He  points  to  Poland  as  an  example.  She 
exported  the  fruits  of  her  soil  to  obtain  the  goods  which 
she  could  have  manufactured  from  it.  As  a  consequence 
she  fell  like  a  house  of  cards  when  organized  nations 
attacked  her.  List  considers  that  had  Poland  developed 
her  manufacturing  arm,  besides  retaining  her  national 
independence  she  would  have  exceeded  any  other  Euro- 
pean country  in  prosperity.    To  use  List's  words : 


io6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Go  to  fallen  Poland  and  ask  its  hapless  people  now 
whether  it  is  advisable  for  a  nation  to  buy  the  fabrics  of  a 
foreign  country  so  long  as  its  native  manufacturers  are  not 
sufficiently  strengthened  to  be  able  to  compete  in  price  and 
quality  with  the  foreigners. 

Bolshevism  set  out  to  socialize  political,  agricultural 
and  industrial  Russia,  and  as  I  expect  to  examine  the 
effects  of  communism  in  each  of  these  departments  of 
Russian  life  I  have  set  down  some  historical  and  econ- 
omical truths  which  must  be  kept  in  mind  when  examin- 
ing the  Lenin  panacea, 

RUSSIA'S   GRAVE  MORAL  ERROR 

An  examination  of  Russia,  the  patient,  just  before  the 
treatment  was  started,  reveals  several  findings  which  are 
necessary  to  complete  the  history  and  physical  examina- 
tion, 

Russia  was  seventy-eight  per  cent  illiterate.  This  means 
that  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  people  in  Russia  could  not 
read  or  write.  It  does  not  mean  that  they  could  not 
think.  There  is  as  great  a  difference  between  illiteracy 
and  intelligence  as  there  is  between  illiteracy  and  igno- 
rance. I  have  met  many  Russian  peasants  who  could 
neither  read  nor  write  but  who  had  good  native  minds, 
genuine  power  of  reasoning — ^home-spun  thinkers.  The 
Russian  head  had  not  been  trained,  but  it  was  not  empty, 

The  autocratic  government  was  the  principal  conspi- 
rator against  education.  The  autocrats  knew  that  igno- 
rance is  the  greatest  insurance  against  uprisings,  the  best 
sedative  to  keep  the  slave  asleep.     The  Church  in  Rus- 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  107 

sia,  the  Orthodox  Church,  was  used  to  keep  the  Hght: 
from  the  people.  The  Czar  was  the  "Little  Father*/'  the 
divine  agent  of  God  on  earth,  and  the  "Unhc^ly  Synod" 
of  the  Russian  Church  bowed,  not  before  the  Christ,  but 
bent  low  before  the  Czar.  They  betrayed  Christ,  even 
as  they  betrayed  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men,  the 
Russian  peasants  and  toilers. 

The  people  of  Russia  held  firmly  to  their  faith  in 
God.  The  rest  and  ease  their  faith  gave  them  was  the 
only  comfort  they  had.  In  moments  of  intense  religious 
communion  they  were  lifted  out  of  themselves  and  for 
seconds  forgot  their  burdens.  These  seconds  were  long 
spaces  of  relief,  green  spots  in  the  endless  desert  waste 
of  life. 

How  Christ  must  have  wept  when  he  witnessed  the 
"Holy  Synod,"  the  monkish  rascals,  with  their  sacri- 
legious icons,  silencing  the  protests  of  souls,  throttling 
the  cry  for  freedom,  by  quoting  in  his  name  that  those 
who  suffered  most  here  would  be  highest  in  heaven.  A 
blasphemy,  a  corruption  of  the  Lowly  One,  who  used 
the  word  brotherhood  to  define  equality,  and  the  father- 
hood of  God  to  express  the  justice  that  man  owed  to 
man. 

It  was  agreed  by  and  between  the  "Unholy  Synod" 
and  the  czars  that  the  Russian  worshipers  of  God  must 
not  know  how  to  read  or  write  His  name.  So  it  was  that 
the  orthodox  church  of  Russia  used  religion  to  insult 
God  and  hold  his  creatures  in  bondage.  It  was  the  one 
church  in  the  world  that  did  not  provide  prayer  books 
for  its  members.     It  was  argued  that  if  the  people  had 


io8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

prayer  books  they  would  learn  to  read,  and  if  they  read 
the  Christ  message  on  the  Sabbath  they  might  read 
more  strange  and  dangerous  books  on  the  other  days  of 
the  week.  They  might  misuse  their  ability  to  read,  and 
read  messages  like  the  American  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. The  Orthodox  churches  painted  the  story  of 
religion  on  its  walls.  They  gave  the  people  an  education 
by  the  picture  book  method  used  for  children  before 
they  have  reached  the  kindergarten  age. 

The  birth  certificate  of  Bolshevism  was  issued  on 
I^ovember  lo,  191 7. 

The  All-Russian  Congress  of  the  Councils  of  Working- 
men's,  Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies  decrees  the  form  of 
the  administration  of  the  country,  pending  the  meeting 
OF  THE  constituent  ASSEMBLY.  The  provisional  workers 
and  peasants'  government  is  to  be  called  the  Council  of 
People's  Commissioners.  The  administration  of  the  indi- 
vidual branches  of  state  life  is  to  be  entrusted  to  boards,  the 
•composition  of  which  is  to  secure  the  carrying  out  of  the 
program  proclaimed  by  the  congress  in  close  contact  with 
the  organizations  of  workers,  sailors,  soldiers,  peasants  and 
employees.  The  government  authority  belongs  to  the  board 
and  chairmen  of  these  commissioners,  that  is,  to  the  people's 
commissioners,  and  the  right  of  systematizing  them  belongs 
to  the  All-Russian  Congress  of  the  Councils  of  Workmen's 
and  Peasants'  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  and  its  Central  Exe- 
cutive Committee. 

The  government  of  the  Czar  was  autocratic,  not  be- 
cause it  misgoverned  the  people,  it  was  autocratic  be- 
cause the  people  did  not  have  a  voice  in  it.  A  govern- 
ment with  good  laws  and  honest  administration  which 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  109 

denies  the  people  a  voice  in  their  own  affairs  is  as  auto- 
cratic as  a  government  w^ith  vicious  laws  that  denies 
the  people  tlie  right  to  govern  themselves.  When  the 
people  exercise  the  right  to  govern  themselves  the  ques- 
tion of  good  government  is  with  them.  If  they  have  less 
than  good  government  it  is  their  own  fault.  The  kind 
of  government  a  free  people  have  is  of  their  own  making. 

With  the  fall  of  the  Kerensky  regime  the  Bolshevist 
Party  called  a  constitutional  assembly  and  promised  the 
Russian  people  liberty  and  the  franchise.  When  this 
assembly  met,  the  majority  of  the  people's  representa- 
tives were  opposed  to  Bolshevism  and  the  convention 
was  marked  for  dissolution  by  its  own  begetters.  Con- 
sequently a  self-repudiating  resolution  was  introduced, 
and  when  the  assembly  very  naturally  declined  to  pass 
it,  the  Bolshevist  members  withdrew  and  the  assembly 
itself  was  forcibly  dispersed  by  the  "Red"  Guards. 

It  was  the  moral  obligation  of  the  Bolshevist  Party  to 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  majority  in  the  convention 
made  up  of  delegates  elected  by  the  people.  By  striking 
down  the  People's  Constitutional  Assembly,  the  minority 
backed  by  force  stripped  the  people  of  Russia  of  their 
right  to  formulate  the  government  under  which  they  were 
to  live.  This  action  on  the  part  of  the  Bolshevist  leaders 
is  on  a  plane  with  the  conduct  of  a  small  band  of  armed 
hoodlums  entering  a  conference  made  up  of  unarmed 
people  and  failing  to  have  their  way,  pulling  their  revol- 
vers and  breaking  up  the  meeting. 

In  the  constitution  and  decrees  of  the  Soviet  govern- 
ment the  Bolsheviki  have  tried  to  explain  this  breach  o£ 


no  THE  NEW  WORLD 

promise.  All  they  have  said  in  the  defense  of  this  be- 
trayal of  the  plain  rights  of  the  people  by  a  criminal  mis- 
use of  power  is  that  it  was  expedient  to  dissolve  the 
Constitutional  Convention  because  the  continuance  of  the 
convention  jeopardized  the  future  of  the  Soviet.  What 
right  had  Lenin  and  Trotzky  to  think  and  act  for  the 
people  of  Russia  any  more  than  the  Czars  had?  In  I 
speeches  and  writings  Lenin  and  Trotzky  have  in  a  veiled 
way  suggested  that  the  peasants  elected  some  members 
of  the  middle  class,  the  bourgeoisie,  to  represent  them  in 
the  convention  instead  of  electing  peasants.  Why  the 
question  of  class  distinction,  particularly  from  the  men 
who  once  so  earnestly  condemned  class  distinctions  ?  The 
peasants  were  free  agents  and  had  the  right  to  select 
whom  they  pleased  to  represent  them  in  their  Constitu- 
tional Convention.  Their  choice  was  their  business,  Rus- 
sia is  their  country. 

When  Lenin  and  Trotzky  complained  about  the  Allies 
not  leaving  Russia  to  the  Russians,  do  they  not  know  that 
they  have  taken  Russia  from  the  Russians? 

No  man  can  become  free  unless  he  is  given  a  chance 
to  exercise  independence.  It  is  impossible  to  get  muscle 
by  letting  another  fellow  use  the  dumb  bells.  The  Rus- 
sians,— peasants  and  workers, — are  human  beings  with  an 
equal  interest  and  an  equal  right  in  determining  the  form 
of  government  which  they  are  called  upon  to  obey,  sup- 
port and  defend.  Years  have  come  and  gone  since  Lin- 
coln's day,  and  yet  the  thought  of  the  world  has  not 
contributed  anything  to  his  basic  definition  of  a   free 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  iii 

country — "a  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people 
and  by  the  people." 

Lenin  issued  his  famous  order.  "Peasants,  seize  the 
land."  This  command  was  obeyed  with  great  enthusi- 
asm. They  forgot  all  about  freedom  and  the  constitu- 
tional convention.  They  understood  what  land  meant, 
they  had  been  taught  its  meaning  by  being  denied  its  pos- 
session. They  knew  little  about  political  phrases  and 
framework.  The  order  to  seize  the  land  tore  from  the 
serfs  their  heaviest  chains.  Lenin  became  their  liberator 
— his  was  the  voice  that  said  "seize  the  land."  It  is 
probable  the  peasants  would  ultimately  have  done  so 
without  Lenin's  instruction  anyway.  Disorder  and  un- 
rest had  destroyed  all  respect  for  property  rights.  Prop- 
erty rights  had  a  different  meaning  in  Russia  than  else- 
where; property  rights  had  meant  the  right  to  beat  hu- 
man beings,  to  buy  and  sell  serfs.  Yet  the  fact  that 
Lenin  had  uttered  the  words  made  them  reverence  and 
respect  him,  even  as  a  man  will  be  thankful  to  one  who 
has  told  him  to  be  careful  of  a  hole  in  the  sidewalk,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  he  has  already  seen  it.  Bolshevism 
started  with  great  popularity.    This  was  the  secret  of  it. 

Of  course  the  order  to  seize  the  land,  all  land,  was 
based  on  the  idea  that  the  owners  of  land  held  title  by 
and  through  their  own  wrongful  conduct.  God  had  made 
the  ground  and  sunshine,  and  those  who  had  taken  title 
to  it  had  only  moved  on  and  forced  others  off.  This  is 
the  way  the  Bolsheviki  reasoned,  and  from  this  point 
of  view  they  were  consistent.  From  the  accepted  view- 
point it  was  confiscation.    It  was  dishonest.    Many  peo- 


112  THE  NEW  WORLD 

pie  believe  that  acquiring  property  is  frequently  the  result 
of  industry  and  thrift;  in  some  cases  the  title  to  prop- 
erty is  based  upon  cunning,  scheming  and  force.  There 
are  some  who  are  without  any  private  property  because 
they  prefer  to  squander  their  time,  dissipate  their  energy 
and  live  shiftless  lives.  After  all,  it  is  a  matter  of  opin- 
ion, and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Bolsheviki  the 
order  "Peasants,  seize  the  land"  may  have  been  justified. 

But  when  the  order  was  given,  the  peasants  seized  it 
not  for  the  community  but  to  own  it  privately.  On  this 
point  there  can  be  no  difference  of  opinion  among  hon- 
est, impartial,  fair-minded  men,  and  when  the  peasants 
seized  the  land  to  hold,  use  and  own  it  as  their  private 
property  they  were  guilt}^  of  taking  title  by  the  identical 
means  used  by  others  against  whom  they  had  complained 
and  whom  they  had  denounced  as  thieves. 

The  Russian  people  have  the  power  to  think  and  they 
soon  realized  that  they  had  acquired  property  by  the  very 
methods  they  had  always  condemned  in  others.  Their 
natural  selfishness  may  constrain  them  to  keep  this  prop- 
erty. The  sufferings  they  have  undergone  may  mitigate 
the  offense,  but  one  effect  was  inevitable,  and  that  effect 
the  most  serious  that  could  happen  to  a  people  on  the 
threshold  of  a  free  future.  I  refer  to  the  weakening 
of  their  moral  nature,  the  making  of  a  precedent  justi- 
fying dishonesty.  The  ill  effects  of  this  act  on  Russia 
38  observable  in  every  subsequent  symptom  of  the  patient. 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  113 

THE  VISION 

Karl  Marx  went  to  his  grave  with  faith  that  commu- 
nism would  come,  but  never  for  one  moment  did  he 
think  that  backward  Russia  would  be  the  scene  of  the 
first  great  experiment.  It  was  almost  the  last  place  in 
the  world  the  socialist  would  pick  out  as  a  place  in  which 
to  try  out  the  theory.  Marx,  no  doubt,  visioned  his 
fatherland,  Germany,  as  the  country  destined  to  be  first 
to  adopt  the  creation  of  his  brain,  the  Communist  Mani- 
festo, as  the  constitution  of  the  Utopian  state. 

Nor  did  Marx  and  his  disciples  think  that  socialism 
would  come  in  the  circumstances  of  the  world  in  1917. 
Marx  thought  he  saw  causes  at  work  which  would  forcQ 
socialism  upon  the  world,  but  they  were  quite  different 
causes  and  conditions  from  the  ones  which  accompanied 
the  hoisting  of  the  "Red"  flag  over  the  Winter  Palace 
in  Petrograd. 

The  prophets  of  the  new  dream  had  all  said  there 
would  come  a  time  when  working  men  would  become 
silent  partners  in  production.  They  spoke  of  the  age  of 
the  machine,  the  day  when  capitalism  would  reach  the 
zenith  of  production.  They  told  how  it  would  come 
about,  and  they  prophesied  what  would  happen. 

They  spoke  and  wrote  of  the  genius  of  the  inventor, 
how  man's  mind  would  create  labor-saving  machinery. 
That  great  machines  would  till  and  plow  the  ground  and 
do  more  in  a  day  than  a  hundred  men  could  do  in  a 
week ;  that  manufacturing  would  become  a  matter  of 
pushing  buttons ;  that  mechanical  power  would  do  the 


114  THE  NEW  WORLD 

work;  hands  of  steel  would  take  the  place  of  human 
hands;  steam  would  take  the  place  of  muscle;  that  the 
world  was  going  on  to  the  day  of  intensified  production ; 
that  the  time  was  not  far  distant  when  the  work  of  the 
world  would  be  done  by  a  small  number  of  men  and  a 
large  number  of  efficient  machines;  that  this  would  put 
man  more  and  more  at  the  mercy  of  the  few  who  owned 
the  machines;  that  the  capitaHst  class  would  grow  rich 
and  powerful  because  of  the  great  surplus  of  everything 
on  hand,  the  great  overproduction ;  that  capitalists  would 
combine  and  confederate  for  their  mutual  protection  and 
for  the  general  exploitation  of  the  workers.  That  these 
great  powerful  combinations  would  be  greater  and  more 
powerful  than  the  government  itself ;  that  they  would 
make  the  law,  defy  the  world,  would  be  above  the  law. 
Political  organizations  would  no  longer  be  groups  of  men 
divided  on  lines  of  principle ;  they  would  be  but  organiza- 
tions in  the  hands  of  the  capitalists  used  to  keep  divided 
the  great  mass  of  struggling,  protesting  people  at  the 
bottom  of  the  world ;  they  would  feed  political  parties  on 
corruption,  keep  them  fighting  each  other  and  thus  keep 
the  people's  house  divided  against  itself. 

In  this  day  they  said  it  would  not  be  necessary  for 
capitalists  to  own  men  as  slaves ;  that  slavery  would  be 
universal,  the  machine  the  shackle.  That  the  strike  would 
be  no  longer  a  usable  weapon ;  that  the  surplus  on  hand 
would  be  so  large  that  the  powerful  few  could  say  to 
the  weak  many  "strike  and  starve." 

That  the  biggest  and  greatest  machine  of  all  would 
be  the  perfectly,  running,  completely  dominating  machine 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  115 

of  capitalism  itself;  that  it  would  be  an  efficient,  highly- 
organized,  finely  functioning  machine;  that  the  workers 
of  the  world,  growing  more  intelligent  because  of  the 
spread  of  popular  education,  would  see  more  clearly  their 
rights  and  the  danger  to  them  of  the  power  of  the 
machine. 

But  the  prophets  erred.  It  came  suddenly,  unexpect- 
edly. It  came  to  the  darkest  part  of  the  globe,  where 
men  and  women  were  least  fitted  to  try  the  experiment. 
This  white  light  of  idealism  came  to  a  people  whose  eyes 
were  not  accustomed  to  the  soft  yellow  light  of  demo- 
cratic freedom. 

Three  years  of  world  war  preceded  its  coming.  The 
world's  surplus  was  almost  consumed.  Exhaustion  was 
showing  itself  everywhere.     In  Russia  it  was  felt  most. 

The  Russian  people  were  demoralized.  They  were 
stampeded  by  the  war.  Twelve  million  of  them  had  been 
mobilized,  taken  from  the  fields,  sent  to  the  front,  un- 
trained for  the  most  part,  unequipped,  called  upon  to  face 
the  finest  military  machine  the  world  has  ever  known, 
to  stop  Von  Hindenburg's  drives.  The  Russian  men 
were  put  in  the  front  trenches  to  fight;  many  of  them 
without  rifles  were  sent  to  death  without  a  sporting 
chance  to  battle  for  life.  The  shells  for  the  artillery 
didn't  fit  the  guns,  the  powder  wouldn't  explode.  To 
them  it  was  not  war — it  was  sacrifice,  betrayal.  In 
peace  handicapped  through  poverty;  in  war  they  werq 
handcuffed  to  death. 

A  single  story  that  has  gone  through  Russia  indicates 
their  plight.  A  staff  colonel  in  the  Russian  army  was  mar- 


ii6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ried  to  a  German  wife.  When  the  war  broke  out  she 
was  in  Germany.  Under  the  military  code,  because  of 
his  position,  he  was  permitted  to  send  her  a  telegram 
each  day.  One  day  the  staff  at  great  headquarters 
changed  the  plan  of  attack  that  had  been  adopted  late  the 
night  before.  The  colonel  had  sent  his  daily  message  to 
his  wife  before  the  change  in  plan  was  made  on  this 
day.  He  sought  to  send  another  telegram.  He  asked 
a  runner  to  take  it.  He  gave  too  large  a  tip.  Two 
telegrams  in  a  day  and  an  extravagant  tip  created  suspi- 
cion. The  runner  took  the  telegram  to  headquarters.  It 
was  opened,  deciphered  and  found  to  be  a  complete  state- 
ment of  the  changed  battle  plan.  Of  course  the  colonel 
was  shot,  but  every  one  in  Russia  will  tell  you  that  the 
treason  of  this  one  man  sacrificed  two  hundred  thousand 
lives. 

Russia's  dead  in  the  war  totaled  over  two  million. 
Over  five  million  were  wounded.  These  were  workers 
and  peasants.  The  story  of  their  betrayal  is  the  most 
immoral  tale  of  the  war. 

Russia  was  a  sick,  tired,  hungry,  black  Russia  in 
March,  1917.  The  people  were  exhausted  and  demoral- 
ized. The  undemobilized  troops,  broken  in  spirit,  were 
trudging  homeward.  They  looted  and  pillaged  their  own. 
Every  one  was  robbing  Russia.  The  spirit  of  law  and 
order  had  left  Russia's  consciousness.  Frenzy,  panic, 
had  seized  Russia's  brooding  mind. 

One  day  in  March,  191 7,  grumbling,  hungry  people 
formed  a  procession  and  marched  through  the  streets. 
They  carried  a  slogan,  "We  want  bread."    Their  bodies 


RUSSIA  OUT  OF  BALANCE  117 

and  faces  shouted  the  slogan.  A  regiment  of  Cossacks 
was  sent  to  ride  them  down.  It  was  the  Czar's  answer 
to  the  petition.  It  was  not  a  new  answer.  Most  petitions 
of  the  i)eople  had  been  answered  in  just  this  way.  The 
Cossacks  rode  out,  but  they  did  not  ride  down  the  peo- 
ple; they  did  not  shoot;  they  joined  the  parade.  Another 
regiment  was  sent  with  the  same  result,  and  another.  The 
thing  had  happened  without  as  much  blood  as  is  often 
spilled  in  a  street  fight.  A  Czar,  representative  of  a  long 
line  of  unquestioned,  unchallenged  autocrats,  was  driven 
from  the  most  powerful  throne  in  the  world.  The 
smoothness  and  speed  of  the  revolution  startled  the 
world,  not  less  the  Russians  themselves. 

A  people's  provisional  government  was  set  up.  Ker- 
ensky  became  its  leader.  A  sick  man,  with  inordinate 
vanity,  possessing  great  power  of  speech,  but  no  force  of 
action,  he  lasted  until  November  7,  1917,  when  the  mili- 
tary revolutionary  committee  seized  the  government,  and 
the  next  day  handed  it  over  to  the  All-Russian  Congress 
of  the  Councils  of  Workmen's,  Soldiers'  and  Peasants' 
Deputies. 

Russia,  the  patient,  was  now  ready  for  the  test,  the 
trial  of  the  new  prescription  which  it  was  promised 
would  cure  poverty — Communism. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP— THE  BIRTH 
OF  BOLSHEVISM 

The  seed  of  socialism  took  growth  in  Russia  in  1898. 
It  had  been  planted  many  years  before.  The  planting 
was  done  in  secrecy,  the  soil  waited  for  and  welcomed 
the  seed,  intellectuals  guarded  it,  the  people  prayed  that 
it  might  grow,  for  with  its  growth  they  believed  would 
come  a  plant — "Revolution" ;  and  the  plant  would  bear  a 
bloom — FREEDOM.  The  planters  and  gardeners  of  the 
seed  were  called  "social  democrats."  Back  of  them  were 
the  people.  The  imperial  government  of  the  Czars  had 
organized  a  powerful  race  of  ferrets  known  as  the  secret 
police.  They  burrowed  the  ground  in  search  of  the  seed. 
Human  bloodhounds  were  turned  loose  on  the  trail  of 
the  planters  of  the  seed. 

In  1898,  at  Minsk,  the  Russian  Social  Democratic 
Labor  Party  was  organized,  A  central  committee  was 
appointed  and  plans  were  carefully  prepared  for  the 
overthrow  of  Czar  Nicholas.  The  plotters  talked  little  of 
socialism  as  an  economic  program.  Less  was  said  of 
the  destruction  of  the  right  of  private  property.  The 
idea  of  communism  was  in  their  minds,  but  it  was  latent, 
unprogrammed.  The  controlling  thought  of  the  party, 
its  first  purpose,  was  the  overthrow  of  the  hated  govem- 

Z18 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP     119 

ment.  Differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  program  that 
should  follow  a  successful  uprising  were  forgotten.  Free- 
dom from  the  terrible  yoke  was  the  one  thought  in  the 
minds  of  the  leaders  and  of  the  people.  All  were  agreed 
on  the  main  object  of  the  party,  the  deliverance  of  the 
Russian  people. 

The  bloodhounds  found  the  trail.  The  daring  men 
who  made  up  the  executive  committee  were  run  down 
and  arrested.  Their  arrest  gave  life  to  the  movement, 
growth  to  the  party,  it  intensified  the  determination  of 
the  people.  Propaganda  and  organization  went  on.  The 
ferrets  had  not  destroyed  the  seed. 

A  second  congress  of  the  party  was  held  at  Brussels 
and  London  in  July  and  August,  1903.  It  was  at  this 
convention  the  seed  had  sprouted,  revolution  taken  root. 
At  the  congress  of  Brussels  and  London,  questions  of 
organization  and  methods  arose.  In  the  effort  to  prepare 
and  perfect  a  program  the  congress  divided.  The  differ- 
ence of  opinion  was  fundamental,  distinct  and  positive. 
The  congress  developed  two  leaders,  both  strong  men. 
Lenin  demanded  a  centralized  body,  a  small,  strong  exe- 
cutive committee  with  full  power  to  act,  complete  obedi- 
ence to  the  committee,  an  iron  attitude  toward  dissent 
and  dissenters.  He  argued  for  solidarity,  and  to  get  it 
he  said  it  was  necessary  to  blot  out  independent  opinions, 
surrender  personal  ideas,  grant  the  executive  committee 
power  without  limit.  He  favored  a  democratic  state,  he 
said,  but  he  urged  the  use  of  autocratic  methods  to  get  it. 
All  agreed  that  force  was  necessary  to  bring  about  the 
downfall  of  the  Czar,  but  Lenin  and  his  followers  insisted 


120  THE  NEW  WORLD 

that  after  this  was  accomplished  the  force  and  violence 
should  continue  until  every  vestige  of  capitalism  was 
destroyed  and  he  would  brook  no  difference  of  opinion. 
He  stood  out  against  all  compromise.  His  program  was 
blood  and  force,  not  only  for  the  revolution,  but  in  the 
building  of  the  new  state  that  was  to  follow.  His  vanity 
of  opinion  strangled  his  democratic  pretensions.  His  ar- 
rogance was  supreme,  his  methods  were  inconsistent  with 
the  spirit  of  the  party,  but  Lenin  did  not  care.  He  be- 
lieved in  driving — leading  was  too  slow.  If  he  was  an 
idealist,  he  was  also  an  autocrat. 

Martoff  led  the  opposition  to  Lenin,  insisting  that 
democratic  methods  should  prevail  in  the  party  which 
promised  a  democratic  program.  He  fought  for  freedom 
within  the  party.  He  objected  to  stripping  individual 
members  of  the  party  and  subordinate  branches  of  the 
organization  of  their  right  to  a  voice  and  a  vote  in  the 
program.  He  was  for  peaceful  poHtical  action  after  the 
revolution  succeeded.  He  stood  for  communism,  but 
urged  that  it  must  be  a  process  of  growth.  Lenin  insisted 
that  such  a  policy  would  deliver  the  party  to  the  bour- 
geoisie. Next  to  the  Czar  and  the  secret  police,  Lenin 
hated  the  bourgeoisie.  They  have  been  and  are  his  ob- 
session. He  gave  to  the  word  a  broad  meaning;  he 
included  in  the  bourgeoisie  the  man  who  was  the  owner 
of  the  small  store,  the  little  shop  or  the  modest  home. 
Every  holder  of  private  property,  small  or  large,  in  the 
eyes  of  Lenin  was  an  enemy  of  the  new  state,  of  the  new 
freedom.  The  "petty"  bourgeoisie  were  as  dangerous  as 
the  nobles ;  neither  must  be  given  time  nor  quarter ;  both 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP     121 

must  be  destroyed  and  at  once.  To  quote  the  substance 
of  Lenin's  words,  a  democratic  government  in  Russia, 
established  by  the  proletariat  with  the  aid  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, would  give  the  capitalists  a  stronger  control  than 
they  had  enjoyed  under  the  Czar.  On  this  rock  he  made 
his  stand. 

The  fight  was  to  a  finish.  The  clash  divided  the  con- 
gress. The  convention  supported  Lenin  with  his  gospel 
of  ruthless  force.  His  war  cry  of  pitiless  persecution 
of  the  bourgeoisie  carried  the  day.  The  majority  of  the 
convention  followed  him.  The  Russian  word  for  majo- 
rity is  "bolshinstvo."  Lenin  and  his  following  became 
known  in  Russia  as  the  "Bolsheviki."  While  the  word 
"Bolshevik"  means  majority,  it  does  not  follow  that  the 
party  bearing  that  name  in  Russia  represents  the  ma- 
jority of  the  people.  The  name  was  given  to  the  party 
because  it  represented  a  majority  of  the  convention,  a 
convention  that  in  nowise  represented  the  majority 
thought  of  the  Russian  people,  except  the  one  thought  of 
deposing  the  Czar  and  destroying  his  regime.  The  fol- 
lowers of  Martoflf,  who  made  up  the  fighting  minority 
in  the  convention  of  1903,  were  called  "Mensheviks." 
The  Russian  word  for  minority  is  "menshinstvo."  The 
fact  that  the  opposition  party  to  the  Lenin  methods  is 
called  Menshevik,  or  the  minority  party,  does  not  mean 
that  this  party  represents  the  views  and  pohtical  plans 
of  a  minority  of  the  Russian  people. 

In  1905  the  Russian  revolution  broke  and  for  about 
eighty  days  the  workers  of  Moscow  and  Petrograd  ruled 
in  a  reign  of  terror.     The  lash  and  sword  of  the  Cos- 


J22  THE  NEW  WORLD 

sacks  finally  beat  them  down.  Lenin  fled  to  Finland  and 
then  to  Switzerland.  Although  the  revolution  of  1905 
failed,  it  left  material  of  great  value  for  a  future  revolu- 
tion. Prior  to  1905  the  labor  unions  were  in  an  embry- 
onic state  and  existed  clandestinely.  The  revolution 
strengthened  these  organizations  and  gave  them  con- 
sciousness. These  labor  union  units  became  the  nucleus 
of  the  organizations  out  of  which  came  the  Soviets. 
When  the  revolution  of  March,  191 7,  succeeded,  these 
unions  were  the  only  available  organizations  in  Russia. 
The  provisional  government  of  Kerensky  was  in  the  be- 
ginning almost  entirely  composed  of  the  organized  work- 
men in  the  factories.  These  men  were  Social  Demo- 
crats. Their  labor  organizations  were  used  to  stabilize 
the  revolution,  to  support  it,  to  hold  it  together,  and  to 
prevent  the  fall  of  the  revolution  through  counter  revolu- 
tions. Until  May,  1917,  there  was  no  such  thing  as  a 
Soviet  of  the  peasants.  In  that  month,  at  Petrograd,  a 
parliament  of  peasants  was  called.  This  convention 
brought  about  the  merger  of  the  peasants  and  soldiers 
and  sailors  and  workers  into  the  Soviets  of  soldiers', 
workers'  and  peasants'  deputies. 

At  this  time  no  one  in  Russia  dreamed  of  the  Soviet 
as  an  organ  of  government.  The  Soviets  were  councils 
representing  the  three  classes  in  the  revolution,  the  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  the  workers,  and  the  peasants,  and  these 
councils  acted  as  agents  of  their  classes,  watching  the 
provisional  government  and  trying  to  secure  recognition 
and  protection  for  their  respective  class  interests. 
I      In  1917  the  Mensheviki,  the  party  believing  in  political 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP     123 

action  rather  than  direct  action,  was  the  majority  party 
of  Russia.  The  Mensheviki  believed  in  communism  as 
the  Bolsheviki  did.  The  difference  was  that  the  Bolshe- 
viki  insisted  upon  enforced  communism,  by  bayonets,  and 
at  once,  while  the  Mensheviki  believed  in  thinking  their 
way  to  the  communistic  state.  Bolsheviki  stood  for  the 
method  of  blood,  the  Mensheviki  for  the  rule  of  reason. 

Lenin  and  Trotzky  set  to  work  to  give  the  Soviets  what 
they  called  a  political  consciousness.  What  they  really 
did  was  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  workers  of  Russia 
with  the  thought  that  they  could  take  advantage  of  the 
revolution  and  build  a  government  with  this  small  minor- 
ity of  the  population  as  dictators.  They  called  it  the 
dictatorship  of  the  proletariat.  It  appealed  to  the 
radical,  aggressive  workmen ;  it  promised  them  great 
advantage.  They  were  shortsighted;  they  seized  upon 
the  thought  and  rallied  around  the  phrase,  "All  power 
to  the  Soviets."  Of  course,  the  Soviets  at  this  time 
did  not  represent  one  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Russia, 
and  few  stopped  to  think  that  a  government  imposing 
the  will  of  one  per  cent  of  the  people  upon  the  other 
ninety-nine  per  cent  of  the  people  could  not  endure.  "A 
house  divided  against  itself  must  fall" ;  a  country  one 
per  cent  free  and  ninety-nine  per  cent  slave  cannot  exist 
to-day. 

The  Kerensky  government  promised  the  people  of  Rus- 
sia a  constitutional  convention,  a  constituent  assembly. 
Lenin  and  Trotzky,  then  not  in  power,  advocated  a  con- 
stituent assembly  representative  of  all  the  people  to  frame 
the  government  of  the  new  Russia.     This  promise  was 


124  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  meeting  place  of  all  minds  in  Russia.  Every  one  fa- 
vored a  convention  of  delegates  elected  by  the  people  and 
authorized  by  the  people  to  form  a  government  for  the 
people.  The  constitutional  assembly  was  to  meet  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 91 8.  In  the  meantime  the  one  thought  in  Russia 
w^as  to  sustain  the  revolution,  to  prevent  a  return  to  power 
of  the  Czar  and  the  nobles.  Lenin  and  Trotzky  suc- 
ceeded in  seizing  the  revolutionar}^  power,  but  they, 
too,  were  bound  by  their  solemn  promise  to  the  people 
to  hold  the  revolutionary  power  as  a  sacred  trust  and 
turn  it  over  to  the  convention  of  the  people.  Before  the 
constitutional  assembly  met  Lenin  and  Trotzky  came  to 
power. 

When  the  constitutional  convention  met,  the  Bolshe- 
viki  were  a  minority  in  the  convention.  The  people  had 
selected  representatives,  and  the  majority  of  these  repre- 
sentatives were  against  Bolshevism,  against  communism 
by  blood  and  force,  but  Lenin  and  Trotzky  had  the  revo- 
lutionary power;  they  had  the  bayonets,  the  army  and 
navy,  the  force  of  the  revolution,  w'hich  they  held  in  trust 
for  the  people  of  Russia.  Instead  of  turning  this  trust 
of  power  over  to  the  elected  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple, they  used  it  to  dissolve  the  constituent  assembly. 
This  was  the  first  crime  against  popular  rule  in  Russia. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  dictatorship,  a  dictatorship 
called  that  of  the  proletariat,  but  in  fact  a  dictatorship 
of  Lenin  and  Trotzky  supported  by  bayonets  and  cannon. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP     125 

BOLSHEVISM  IS  THE  LINCOLN  FORMULA  REVERSED 

On  the  tenth  day  of  July,  1918,  the  Bolshevist  govern- 
ment adopted  a  constitution.  They  named  the  new  na- 
tion the  "Russian  Socialist  Federal  Soviet  Republic." 
They  hung  out  a  flag,  a  red  cloth,  in  the  left  corner  of 
vi'hich  (on  top,  near  the  pole)  are  in  golden  letters  "R.  S. 
F.  S.  R."  The  coat  of  arms  of  the  new  Russian  govern- 
ment consists  of  a  scarlet  background  on  which  a  golden 
scythe  and  a  hammer  are  placed  (crosswise,  handles 
downward)  in  sun  rays  and  surrounded  by  a  wreath,  in- 
scribed: "Russian  Socialist  Federal  Soviet  Republic. 
Workers  of  the  World,  Unite." 

The  constitution  of  a  country  is  its  foundation.  It 
must  be  solid  if  liberty  is  to  be  secure.  The  whole  super- 
structure depends  upon  the  foundation.  Government  is 
a  house  made  of  laws.  There  can  be  no  peace,  freedom 
and  order  without  law.  The  people  who  live  in  the 
house,  the  great  national  family,  have  a  vital  interest  in 
the  house  in  which  they  live.  It  is  their  shelter,  their  se- 
curity. It  is  the  right  of  every  free  man  to  have  a  say 
in  the  kind  of  house  he  is  to  live  in,  a  voice  in  the  making 
of  the  laws  he  is  called  upon  to  obey  and  maintain.  The 
house  of  Freedom  is  one  citizen's  house  as  much  as  it 
is  another's.  Without  equality  there  cannot  be  freedom. 
Every  Russian  had  an  equal  right  to  determine  the  kind 
of  government  that  should  prevail  in  his  land.  The 
Bolshevist  government  began  by  denying  the  people  the 
right  to  a  voice  in  the  form  of  government  of  their  coun- 
try.    A  minority,  without  consulting  the  people,  with- 


126  THE  NEW  WORLD 

out  giving  them  a  chance  to  express  their  views,  forced 
upon  the  people  a  constitution.  The  Bolshevist  govern- 
ment therefore  was  built  on  the  false  foundation  of  mi- 
nority rule.  The  principle  that  all  governments  derive 
their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed  was 
sent  to  the  scrap  heap. 

The  Russian  constitution  provides  for  a  government 
of  Soviets.  The  word  soviet  means  council.  The  Soviet 
is  a  body  of  political  officeholders  who  run  the  govern- 
ment. In  our  country,  instead  of  calling  these  bodies 
Soviets,  we  call  them  township  commissioners,  village 
trustees,  city  councils  or  boards  of  aldermen,  state  legis- 
latures, congress.  Under  the  Bolshevist  Constitution  all 
power  is  given  to  the  Soviets.  This  is  and  has  been  the 
rallying  cry  of  the  members  of  the  Soviets.  The  Soviets 
have  the  power  to  make  laws  as  well  as  the  power  to  en- 
force obedience  to  the  laws.  The  legislative  and  execu- 
tive power  is  combined  in  the  Soviet. 

The  Bolshevist  Constitution  divides  Russia  into  re- 
gions, provinces,  counties,  towns,  villages,  rural  districts 
and  local  rural  districts.  For  the  purpose  of  comparison 
we  can  liken  Russia  to  the  United  States,  a  province  in 
Russia  to  a  state  in  our  Union,  and  so  on  down  through* 
the  list.  We  have  no  political  division  corresponding  to 
the  Russian  region,  a  unit  larger  than  an  American  state. 

The  Russian  citizen's  liberty  is  measured  by  the  voice 
he  is  given  in  selecting  the  men  who  are  to  make  the  laws 
he  must  obey.  The  constitution  fixes  his  freedom.  It 
says  how  far  he  may  go  and  no  farther. 

We  have  heard  much  about  the  "poor  peasants."    The 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP     127 

constitution  makes  them  paupers  in  liberty.  Down  at 
the  bottom  of  government  the  farmer,  the  "poor  peas- 
ant," is  given  the  right  to  vote  for  delegates  to  the  local 
rural  Soviet.  This  little  body  has  about  the  same  power 
in  shaping  the  policy  of  Russia  and  making  the  laws  that 
affect  life,  liberty  and  property  as  the  township  commis- 
sioners have  in  the  United  States.  Governed  by  office- 
holders the  Russian  citizen's  vote  is  confined  to  purely 
local  matters.  When  the  "poor  peasant"  has  cast  this 
one  lonesome  and  meaningless  vote  for  a  representative 
in  the  local  rural  Soviet  he  is  through. 

The  "poor  peasant,"  having  cast  his  vote  for  the  local 
rural  Soviet,  leaves  the  task  of  government  to  the  office- 
holders. The  deputies  elected  to  the  local  rural  Soviet 
meet  and  elect  the  deputies  to  the  next  higher  governing 
unit,  the  rural  Soviet.  Here  is  found  the  first  governing 
body  for  which  the  "poor  peasant"  is  denied  a  vote,  but 
not  the  last. 

The  next  unit  of  government  in  Russia  is  the  county. 
The  people  do  not  have  a  vote  for  the  delegates  to  the 
county  Soviets.  These  county  commissioners  are  elected 
by  the  members  of  the  city  and  village  Soviets  and  the 
members  of  the  rural  Soviets.  This  is  government  one 
step  removed  from  the  people  of  the  cities  and  two  steps 
removed  from  the  "poor  peasants." 

The  provincial  Soviets  are  elected  by  the  city  Soviets 
and  the  rural  Soviets.  Again  the  people  are  without  a 
direct  voice  in  their  own  government. 

The  constitution  says:  "The  All-Russian  Congress 
is  the   supreme  power,"     This  body  in  the  government 


128  THE  NEW  WORLD 

of  Russia  takes  the  place  of  our  congress,  our  president 
and  the  cabinet.  It  has  the  supreme  legislative  and  exec- 
utive powder.  Do  the  people  have  a  vote  for  these  all- 
povi^erful  congressmen?  Certainly  not.  The  All- Rus- 
sian congressmen  are  elected  by  the  city  Soviets  and  by 
the  Soviets  of  the  provinces,  who  were  elected  by  the 
city  and  rural  Soviets,  the  rural  Soviets  having  been 
elected  by  the  local  rural  Soviets,  whose  members  were 
elected  by  the  people. 

The  All-Russian  Congress  is  a  very  large  body.  The 
first  Congress  met  in  1917.  It  numbered  1,200  delegates. 
The  seventh  Congress  met  in  December,  19 19,  and  the 
membership  has  grown  to  over  two  thousand.  It  is  a 
big,  cumbersome  body,  unfit  for  deliberative  purposes, 
a  sort  of  mass  meeting,  a  platform  for  the  relief  of  those 
who  have  speeches  burdening  their  chests.  The  Con- 
gress never  sits  for  more  than  a  week.  It  was  never 
intended  to  be  an  organ  of  government.  The  constitu- 
tion tells  the  story. 

Section  28  reads :  "The  AU-Russian  Congress  shall 
elect  a  central  executive  committee  of  not  more  than  200 
members."  This  takes  the  government  another  step 
from  the  people. 

Section  30  says :  "When  the  All-Russian  Congress 
is  not  in  session,  the  central  executive  committee  is  the 
supreme  power  of  the  republic."  But  we  have  not 
reached  the  end  of  the  journey  from  the  people  to  the 
seat  of  power. 

Section  35  reads :  "The  central  executive  committee 
shall  select  a  council  of  people's  commissars  who  shall 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP    129 

manage  the  affairs  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federal  So- 
viet Republic." 

Section  37  reads:  "The  council  of  people's  commis- 
sars is  intrusted  with  the  general  management  of  the 
affairs  of  the  republic," 

Section  38:  "For  the  accomplishment  of  this  task 
the  people's  commissars  shall  issue  decrees,  resolutions, 
orders,  and  in  general  take  all  steps  necessary  for  thq 
proper  and  rapid  conduct  of  government  affairs." 

Section  40 :  "The  central  executive  committee  has  the 
right  to  revoke  or  suspend  all  orders  and  resolutions  of 
the  council  of  people's  commissars." 

But  a  "note"  to  section  40  of  the  constitution  reads: 
"Measures  requiring  immediate  action  may  be  enacted 
directly  by  the  council  of  people's  commissars." 

The  council  of  people's  commissars  numbers  17.  The 
people  had  no  voice  in  selecting  the  people's  commissars ; 
they  were  not  given  a  choice  in  picking  the  central  exec- 
utive committee;  they  were  not  allowed  to  vote  for  the 
All- Russian  congressmen ;  in  the  rural  districts  the  "poor 
peasants"  were  not  even  allowed  to  vote  for  the  men 
who  selected  the  men  who  in  turn  selected  the  congress- 
men. 

At  the.head  of  the  "Sacred  Seventeen"  is  the  chief  of 
state,  Lenin.  At  his  right  hand  sits  Trotzky,  commissar 
of  force  in  charge  of  the  army  and  navy.  When  I  think 
of  the  part  the  people  play  in  this  newest  form  of  "free" 
government,  and  the  distance  they  are  kept  from  their 
country's  affairs,  I  cannot  help  but  see  them  through 
this    constitution    as    though    I    were    looking    at   them 


130  THE  NEW  WORLD 

through  the  wrong  end  of  a  pair  of  opera  glasses.  In 
truth  it  is  a  long  way  from  the  people  to  the  throne  of 
Lenin.  The  people  make  only  the  first  and  shortest  step. 
There  are  five  long  and  important  steps  between  the 
"poor  peasants"  and  the  power,  and  three  between  the 
city  voters  and  the  real  government  of  Russia. 

The  Bolshevist  government  is  a  government  of  office- 
holders, for  officeholders  and  by  officeholders.  It  is 
Lincoln's  formula  reversed.  I  have  heard  it  said  that 
democratic  government  is  a  failure  because  political 
officeholders  do  not  truly  represent  the  people.  There 
is  some  justification  for  the  statement,  but  the  people 
have  a  remedy ;  the  system  is  not  at  fault.  I  cannot  un- 
derstand the  logic  for  the  faith  that  a  government  which 
provides  three  or  five  additional  sets  of  officeholders  be- 
tween the  people  and  the  government  will  make  thing9 
better. 

The  title.  People's  Commissar,  is  full  of  meaning.  It 
is  obese  with  power.  The  title  is  copyrighted  in  the  con- 
stitution. 

In  December,  1918,  Lenin  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
American  workingmen  in  which  he  said: 

Let  incurable  pedants,  crammed  full  of  bourgeois,  demo- 
cratic and  parliamentary  prejudices,  shake  their  heads 
gravely  over  our  Soviet;  let  them  deplore  the  fact  that  we 
have  no  direct  elections. 

I  suggest  that  Lenin  put  the  Soviet  plan  before  organ- 
ized labor  in  the  United  States,  ask  the  union  card  car- 
riers of  America  to  give  up  direct  elections  in  their  labor 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  DICTATORSHIP    131 

unions,  accept  a  scheme  of  government  for  their  unions 
modeled  after  the  Bolshevist  plan,  and  see  how  many 
followers  he  will  get.  The  rank  and  file  of  the  labor 
movement  guard  jealously  and  zealously  their  right  to  a 
voice  and  vote  for  measures  and  men. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SOVIET  MACHINE 

Lenin  has  frequently  observed  that  representative  gov- 
ernment is  a  failure.  He  has  insisted  that  the  demo- 
cratic form  of  government  is  debauched  and  destroyed 
by  the  political  machine ;  that  political  corruption  ve- 
toes the  will  of  the  people.  If  Lenin  is  right  in  this 
conclusion,  then  the  Bolshevist  government  in  Russia 
offers  from  three  to  five  times  as  much  chance  for  po- 
litical corruption  as  our  own  form  of  government.  If 
it  is  dangerous  for  the  American  people  to  entrust  their 
business  to  an  agent  whom  they  directly  elect  and  who 
is  directly  responsible  to  them,  how  much  more  dan- 
gerous must  it  be  to  turn  over  the  public  business  to 
seventeen  men  appointed  by  a  central  executive  com- 
mittee, the  members  of  which  have  been  appointed  by 
an  All-Russian  Congress,  this  All-Russian  Congress  being 
elected  by  Soviets  for  whom  the  people  did  not  vote? 
Were  we  to  apply  this  plan  to  our  own  govern- 
ment, our  Congress  would  be  elected  by  the  state 
legislatures  and  the  aldermen  of  the  cities.  A  congress 
so  elected  would  pick  an  executive  committee  of  200, 
and  this  committee  would  elect  seventeen  commissioners 

132 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  133 

to  whom  would  be  given  the  supreme  power  of  the 
state,  both  legislative  and  executive. 

In  the  history  of  the  ages  two  theories  of  government 
have  been  at  war.  One  is  that  the  majority  shall  rule — ■ 
the  other,  that  the  minority  shall  rule.  The  people  strug- 
gling for  freedom  have  battled  for  the  former ;  the  few 
seeking  special  privileges  have  fought  for  the  latter.  The 
first  is  democratic,  the  second  autocratic.  No  compro- 
mise is  possible ;  there  is  no  middle  ground.  These  two 
antagonistic  ideas  have  nothing  in  common ;  like  parallel 
lines,  they  can  never  meet;  in  their  nature  they  are  sep- 
arate and  apart.  The  government  of  the  late  Kaiser  of 
Germany  and  the  government  of  Nicholas  of  Russia, 
were  founded  on  the  idea  that  the  minority  shall  rule. 
History  shows  that  minority  rule  has  always  enslaved  the 
majority.  The  rule  of  the  minority  over  a  majority 
means  slavery  for  the  many.  It  is  human  nature.  The 
principle  always  works  the  same  result.  If  it  is  a  po- 
litical meeting  and  the  minority  runs  it,  the  result  is  a 
machine  and  a  boss.  If  it  is  a  nation,  there  is  a  bureau- 
cracy and  a  dictator  who  derives  his  power  not  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed,  but  from  the  bayonets  of 
the  army.  There  may  be  room  for  honest  differences 
of  opinion  between  honest  men  on  many  questions,  but 
there  is  not  any  room  for  difference  of  opinion  among 
honest  freemen  on  the  proposition  that  minority  rule  is 
a  menace. 

In  Article  III  of  the  Bolshevist  Constitution  we  find 
incontrovertible  evidence  that  the  government  of  Soviet 


134  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Russia  is  built  on  the  tyrant's  stone,  minority  rule.    Sec- 
tion 25  reads : 

"The  All-Russian  Congress  is  composed  o£  representa- 
tives of  city  Soviets  in  the  ratio  of  one  delegate  for 
every  25,000  voters,  and  of  representatives  of  the  So- 
viets of  the  provinces  in  the  ratio  of  one  delegate  for 
every  125,000  inhabitants." 

No  explanation  is  given  for  basing  the  representation 
in  congress  from  the  cities  on  the  number  of  voters, 
while  the  representation  in  congress  from  the  provinces 
is  based  on  the  number  of  inhabitants.  The  words  are 
not  synonyms.  A  voter  is  an  inhabitant  of  certain  age 
and  possessing  certain  qualifications.  An  inhabitant  is 
any  one  who  lives  in  the  province,  regardless  of  age  or 
qualifications.  If  the  word  inhabitant  is  given  the  same 
meaning  as  the  word  voter,  then  it  is  apparent  that  the 
constitution  discriminates  unjustly  against  the  "poor 
peasant."  As  they  have  had  no  general  elections  in 
Russia,  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  official  construction 
of  these  two  words.  If  the  word  inhabitant  means  any 
man,  woman  or  child  living  in  the  province,  the  discrimi- 
nation against  the  "poor  peasants"  is  just  as  obvious,  al- 
though it  does  not  go  to  the  same  length.  As  an  illus- 
tration, if  we  read  this  important  provision  of  the  con- 
stitution giving  to  the  word  inhabitant  the  same  mean- 
ing as  we  give  to  the  word  voter,  then  we  see  that  the 
voters  of  the  city  have  one  congressman  for  every  25,000, 
while  the  "poor  peasants"  have  one  congressman  for 
every  125,000.    If  we  construe  the  word  voter  to  mean 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  135 

the  qualified  legal  voter,  and  the  word  inhabitant  to 
mean  any  human  being  living  in  the  provinces,  we  learn 
that  the  people  of  the  city  have  one  congressman  for 
every  25,000  voters,  while  the  people  of  the  provinces 
have  one  congressman  for  every  62,500  voters.  I  base 
my  calculations  on  the  fact  that  in  the  United  States  we 
estimate  that  there  is  one  voter  to  every  five  of  the  popu- 
lation. This  calculation  is  based  upon  male  suffrage 
alone,  with  the  voting  age  fixed  at  twenty-one  years.  In 
Russia  both  men  and  women  have  the  suffrage,  and  the 
vote  qualifying  age  is  eighteen  years.  I,  therefore,  figure 
that  there  would  be  one  voter  for  every  two  in  popula- 
tion. There  is  no  question  about  the  discrimination 
against  the  "poor  peasant"  and  the  favoring  of  the  city 
voter.     It  is  only  a  question  of  how  much. 

Lenin  may  be  the  idealist  some  people  say  he  is,  but 
this  section  of  the  constitution  proves  him  to  be  a  prac- 
tical machine  politician  in  his  methods.  The  provision 
was  written  to  meet  a  situation.  It  has  a  purpose.  Lenin 
has  frequently  written  and  spoken  about  the  "poor  peas- 
ants." He  can  be  forgiven  for  overworking  the  phrase. 
The  "poor  peasants"  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  popula- 
tion of  Russia.  It  is  not  bad  politics,  although  it  smacks 
of  demagogy,  to  speak  often  and  sympathetically  of  the 
"suffering  poor,"  particularly  when  the  "poor  peasants" 
form  the  majority  of  one's  constituency.  Many  success- 
ful politicians  owe  their  offices  to  this  appeal.  Measured 
by  his  words,  Lenin  is  the  friend  of  the  "poor  peasants ;" 
by  the  constitution  he  is  their  enemy. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  constitution  specifically  declares 


136  THE  NEW  WORLD 

that  the  supreme  power  of  the  government  is  vested  in 
the  All-Russian  Congress.  This  is  true  only  in  theory, 
for  we  have  read  how  the  All-Russian  Congress  turns 
the  supreme  power  over  to  a  central  executive  commit- 
tee, which  in  turn  surrenders  the  power  to  the  seventeen 
People's  Commissars. 

The  discrimination  against  the  "poor  peasant"  runs 
all  through  the  constitution ;  the  Bolsheviki  are  at  least 
consistent.  Paragraph  "B"  of  section  53  of  the  con- 
stitution furnishes  additional  evidence  of  the  conspiracy 
against  the  peasants.     It  reads  : 

The  provincial  Soviets  are  composed  of  representatives  of 
the  city  Soviets  and  the  rural  Soviets,  one  representative 
for  10,000  inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts,  and  one  repre- 
sentative for  2,000  voters  in  the  city. 

In  the  regional  congresses  it  is  the  same,  one  repre- 
sentative for  25,000  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and  one 
representative  for  5,000  voters  of  the  city. 

The  governments  of  the  nation,  of  the  regions,  of  the 
provinces,  are  based  on  the  disfranchisement  of  the 
"poor  peasants."  It  is  to  wonder  if  there  is  any  signifi- 
cance in  the  fact  that  the  people  of  the  city  have  one  rep- 
resentative for  a  certain  number  of  votes,  while  the 
people  of  the  country  have  one  representative  for  just 
five  times  the  number.  The  ratio  is  always  the  same: 
For  All-Russian  congressmen  it  is  25,000  in  the  city,  as 
against  125,000  in  the  country;  in  the  regional  congress 
it  is  5,000  voters  of  the  city  as  against  25,000  inhabitants 
of  the  country :  in  the  provincial  congresses  it  is  one  rep- 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  137 

resentative  for  2,000  voters  in  the  city,  one  representa- 
tive for  10,000  inhabitants  from  the  rural  districts.  Why 
this  five  to  one?  I  am  wondering  how  Lenin  hit  upon 
the  ratio  of  five  to  one ;  is  there  any  connection  between 
this  five-to-one  discrimination  against  the  "poor  peas- 
ants" and  the  ratio  of  population  in  Russia  between  city 
dwellers  and  "poor  peasants,"  which  is  about  five  to 
one  ?  It  is  not  difficult  to  guess  the  reason  for  this  action. 
Any  American  ward  politician  could  furnish  the  expla- 
nation in  a  minute.  All  political  experience  proves  that 
a  political  machine  is  best  controlled,  easiest  organized 
in  the  cities.  Political  machines  have  never  been  popular 
in  the  country  districts.  The  Soviet  form  of  government 
is  a  political  machine.  The  control  of  the  machine  is 
Insured  by  disfranchising  the  "poor  peasants."  The  men 
who  designed  the  Bolshevist  Constitution  knew  one  thing 
about  practical  politics,  and  they  knew  this  one  thing 
thoroughly,  and  it  is  that  cities  are  accessible  to  political 
control,  amenable  to  political  influence,  ideal  for  the, po- 
litical machine. 

The  soldiers  are  generally  stationed  in  cities.  This 
gives  them  the  power  of  city  voters.  They  are  not  dis- 
criminated against,  they  are  favored.  Soldiers  are  not 
free  agents  in  the  same  sense  as  civilians.  Civilians  have 
a  freedom  of  thought  and  action  that  the  army  does  not 
enjoy.  The  soldier  is  an  employee  of  the  government; 
he  is  under  discipHne;  the  People's  Commissars  fix  his 
pay,  determine  the  quantity  and  quality  of  his  food,  ar- 
range for  the  comforts  of  the  barracks;  the  votes  and 
the  bayonets  of  the  military  sustain  and  support  Lenin. 


138  THE  NEW  WORLD 

BOLSHEVISM*  STRIPS  RUSSIANS  OF  CITIZENSHIP 

The  first  great  hypocrisy  of  the  Bolshevist  government 
was  its  pretense  at  establishing  equality.  Caste  and  class 
reminded  the  Russians  of  suflFering,  so  the  Soviet  gov- 
ernment, through  the  People's  Commissars,  issued.the  fol- 
lowing decree: 

All  designations,  such  as  merchant,  nobleman,  burgher, 
peasant;  titles,  such  as  prince,  count,  etc.,  and  distinctions  of 
civil  ranks,  privy,  state  and  other  councilors,  are  abolished 
and  one  designation  is  established  for  all  the  population  of 
Russia — Citizen  of  the  Russian  Republic. 

Article  4  of  the  constitution  discloses  the  insincerity 
of  the  decree.  It  does  more.  It  gives  evidence  of  the 
great  felony  committed  against  the  freedom  of  the  Rus- 
sian people  by  Lenin,  who  decreed  that :  ( i )  All  Russians 
who  are  eighteen  years  of  age  and  who  have  acquired 
the  means  of  living,  through  labor  that*  is  productive  and 
useful  to  society,  and  also  persons  engaged  in  housekeep- 
ing for  the  former;  (2)  soldiers  of  the  army  and  navy; 
and  (3)  members  of  the  former  two  classes,  when  inca- 
pacitated, shall  have  the  right  to  hold  office  and  to  vote. 

But  the  constitution  goes  further ;  it  tells  who  shall  not 
hold  office  and  shall  not  vote : 

First.  Persons  who  employ  hired  labor  in  order  to 
obtain  profit. 

Second.  Persons  who  have  an  income,  such  as  inter- 
est in  capital,  rents,  receipts  from  property,  etc. 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  139 

Third.  Private  merchants,  trade  and  commercial 
brokers. 

Fourth,    Monks  and  clergy  of  all  denominations. 

Fifth,  Employees  and  agents  of  the  former  police, 
the  gendarmery,  and  the  Czar's  secret  service ;  also  mem- 
bers of  the  former  reigning  dynasty. 

Sixth,    The  demented  or  mentally  deficient. 

Seventh,  Persons  who  have  been  deprived  by  a  So- 
viet of  their  rights  of  citizenship,  because  of  selfishness, 
or  dishonorable  offenses,  for  the  period  fixed  by  the  sen- 
tence.   • 

Section  7  affords  great  opportunity  for  construction; 
the  Soviets  are  given  power  to  disfranchise  citizens,  be- 
cause of  "selfishness  or  dishonorable  offenses."  Who 
shall  say  what  constitute  these  offenses?  The  courts? 
No.  The  people  ?  No.  The  dictator  ?  Yes.  When  we 
remember  that  the  first  thing  the  Bolsheviki  did  when 
they  came  into  power  was  to  drive  from  the  Soviets 
every  one  disagreeing  with  the  Bolshevist  plan  of  com-, 
munism,  at  once  and  by  force,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
the  terrible  power  given  in  this  phrase  and  the  tyrannical 
use  that  could  be  made  of  it.  Every  difference  of  opin- 
ion with  theii  methods  or  plans  would  be  a  selfish  and 
dishonorable  offense  in  the  eyes  of  the  Bolshevist  rulers, 
and  the  foolhard}  dissenter  could  be  stripped  of  his  citi- 
zenship, and,  no  doubt,  would  be.  This  section  writes 
the  death  warrant  of  freedom  of  opinion ;  it  gives  to  the 
Soviets  a  bludgeon  with  which  to  beat  men  and  women 
out  of  citizenship.  It  makes  the  citizen  the  servant,  the 
officeholder  the  master ;  it  is  government  upside  down. 


140  THE  NEW  WORLD 

In  a  note  to  section  64  of  article  4  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, we  learn  the  local  Soviets  may,  with  the  consent  of 
the  People's  Commissars,  "lower  the  age  qualifications 
for  voters," 

What  a  splendid  opportunity  this  joker  in  the  consti- 
tution offers  for  political  jockeying.  If  the  central  pow- 
er discovers  it  is  about  to  lose  control  of  a  village  or 
rural  Soviet,  it  has  the  power  to  nip  the  uprising  in  the 
bud.  The  People's  Commissars  can  arrange  with  the  mi- 
nority in  the  local  Soviet  to  reduce  the  age  limit  and  give 
the  vote  to  young  boys  and  girls.  When  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  constitution  directs  the  People's  Commis- 
sar of  education  to  introduce  in  all  Russian  schools  the 
study,  explanation  and  justification  of  the  Bolshevist  con- 
stitution, it  is  not  hard  to  understand  why  young  people 
in  whose  minds  has  been  drilled  a  reverence  for  Bol- 
shevism should  vote  for  and  support  the  Bolshevist  pro- 
gram. 

Three  groups  of  people  classified  by  their  occupations 
are  permitted  citizenship.  They  are  the  members  of  the 
army  and  navy,  the  working  men  and  women,  and  the 
peasants  who  do  not  hire  labor.  Every  one  else  is  made 
an  outcast.  The  man  who  has  saved  a  little  money,  earned 
in  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and  invested  it,  is  not  per- 
mitted to  become  a  citizen ;  the  man  who  has  a  little 
shop — it  may  represent  the  sacrifices  and  savings  of  his 
whole  life — comes  under  the  ban,  he  is  unfit  for  free 
citizenship  in  Bolshevist  Russia;  the  farmer  who  hires 
help,  even  though  it  is  a  single  farm-hand  in  harvest 
time,  is  a  "criminal  exploiter,"  and  he  is  denied  the  righl; 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  141 

to  vote  or  hold  office.  It  is  dangerous  to  give  the  thrifty, 
the  industrious,  the  vote. 

Lenin's  antipathy  to  democracy  is  clearly  stated  in 
his  denunciation  of  the  Mensheviki,  which  is  the  rival 
faction  of  the  Socialist  Party  in  Russia : 

In  its  class  composition,  this  party  is  not  Socialist  at  all. 
It    doesn't    represent    the    laboring    masses;    it    represents 

FAIRLY  PROSPEROUS  PEASANTS  AND  WORKING  MEN,  PETTY 
TRADERS  AND  MANY  SMALL  AND  SOME  EVEN  FAIRLY  LARGE 
CAPITALISTS,  AND  A  NUMBER  OF  REAL  BUT  GULLIBLE  PROLETA- 
RIANS WHO  HAVE  BEEN  CAUGHT  IN  THE  BOURGEOISIE  NET. 

A  "fairly  prosperous"  working  man  may  be  a  prole- 
tarian, but  because  he  does  not  accept  the  will  of  Lenin 
he  is  denied  citizenship  and  looked  upon  with  scorn  by 
the  Bolsheviki. 

The  man  who  devotes  his  life  to  religion,  who  com- 
forts the  poor,  visits  the  sick,  is  the  servant  of  God,  is 
driven  from  the  Political  House ;  he  is  denied  the  right  to 
vote. 

Lincoln — sad,  patient,  kindly  Lincoln,  who  lived  for 
man,  once  said: 

It  (the  Bible)  is  the  best  gift  which  God  has  given  to 
man.  All  the  good  from  the  Savior  of  the  World  is  commu- 
nicated to  us  through  this  Book.  But  for  that  Book,  we 
could  not  know  right  from  wrong.  All  those  things  desir- 
able to  man  are  contained  in  it. 

Theodore  Roosevelt  said : 

You  may  look  through  the  Bible  from  cover  to  cover  and 
nowhere  will  you  find  a  line  that  can  be  construed  into  an 


142  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ap>ology  for  the  man  of  brains  who  sins  against  the  Light. 
On  the  contrary,  in  the  Bible,  taking  that  as  a  guide,  you 
will  find  that  because  much  has  been  given  to  you,  much  will 
be  expected  from  you;  and  the  heavier  condemnation  is  to 
be  visited  upon  the  able  man  who  goes  wrong  than  upon  his 
weaker  brother  who  cannot  do  the  harm  that  the  other  does, 
because  it  is  not  in  him  to  do  it. 

Bolshevism  is  purely  materialistic.  It  has  either  a 
great  fear  or  a  great  hatred  of  God.  From  the  begin- 
ning it  has  shown  a  positive  antagonism  toward  the  Bible. 
It  excluded  from  all  oaths  the  mention  of  the  Supreme 
Being.  The  Bolshevist  attitude  on  religion  is  epito- 
mized in  the  following  anecdote: 

It  was  the  custom  under  the  old  regime  that  on  Easter 
Sunday  every  newspaper  in  the  empire  carried  the  headline 
"Christ  is  Risen."  On  Easter,  1918,  all  Bolshevist  papers 
substituted  for  this  sacred  sentiment,  "100  years  ago  Karl 
Marx  was  born." 

The  fact  that  men  and  women  were  bom  in  Russia, 
that  their  parents  and  grandparents  were  natives  of  the 
soil  for  centuries,  means  nothing  to  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment. These  disfranchised  ones  speak  the  Russian  lan- 
guage; it  is  their  only  tongue.  Their  blood  has  had  a 
part  in  Russian  suffering,  yet  the  Bolshevist  Constitu- 
tion exiles  them;  they  are  natives  without  a  country; 
and  why?  Because  by  honesty  and  industry  they  have 
saved  a  little  or  because  they  are  giving  their  lives  to  the 
service  of  man  in  the  name  of  the  Lowly  One. 

Die  Freiheit,   the  Berlin   Organ  of  the   Independent 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  143 

Social  Democrats,  a  revolutionary  newspaper,  which  has 
been  most  friendly  to  Bolsheviki,  says: 

Purity  of  principles  is  for  Russia  only  an  article  for  ex- 
portation. Always  seeking  to  introduce  anarchy  and  disor- 
der in  the  world.  Lenin  to-day  finds  his  road  to  Damascus, 
for  he  is  making  a  fresh  appeal  to  capitalists  forms  in  order 
to  reestablish  the  general  economy  of  the  country.  The  dic- 
tatorship of  the  proletariat  is  reducing  itself  to  the  dictator- 
ship of  a  few  communist  leaders.  The  Councils'  system  is 
broken  up,  for  the  workers  have  no  longer  any  influence  in 
the  factories.  The  Agrarian  program  of  the  communist  is  a 
complete  Fiasco. 

The  constitutional  provision  defining  citizenship  puts  a 
premium  on  indolence,  a  penalty  on  industry;  it  encour- 
ages waste ;  it  punishes  economy ;  it  makes  the  successful 
an  outcast;  it  makes  of  the  ne'er-do-well  a  citizen;  fru- 
gality, thrift  and  industry  are  crimes ;  those  who  possess 
these  qualities  are  branded  as  undesirables;  they  are  de- 
nied citizenship. 

Lenin  tried  to  justify  all  of  this  by  saying  that  in  the 
transition  from  capitalism  to  socialism  it  is  necessary 
to  rule  with  an  iron  hand.  Capitalism  must  be  destroyed. 
The  system  must  be  uprooted.  Even  so,  what  right  has 
Lenin,  without  the  consent  of  the  majority,  to  take  citi- 
zenship from  native  Russians?  What  is  his  excuse? 
Where  is  the  force  of  his  argument?  Even  admitting, 
for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  communism,  Bolshevism, 
is  a  panacea  for  all  the  ills  of  the  human  race,  what  right 
has  Lenin  and  his  minority  to  force  it  on  the  people  of 
Russia?    Conceding  his  creed  is  for  the  common  good. 


144  THE  NEW  WORLD 

is  it  not  his  first  duty  to  make  the  people  see  and  under- 
stand its  virtues,  and  then,  by  and  with  the  majority 
consent,  put  the  creed  to  the  test?  To  assert  that  his 
program  is  economic  does  not  change  the  fact  that  his 
methods  are  undemocratic.  The  Lenin  system  of  dis- 
franchising the  people  must  eventually  demoralize  them. 

How  can  a  people  be  free  without  learning  self-reli- 
ance, without  tr}ang  self-government  ?  Proclaiming  peo- 
ple free  does  not  make  them  free.  Freedom  is  action. 
It  is  the  ability  to  govern  one's  self.  It  comes  from 
experience  and  exercise  in  governing  one's  self.  The 
definition  of  freedom  is  self-determination,  and  the  word 
"self"  is  an  important  part  of  the  definition.  Admit- 
ting for  the  moment  that  Lenin  is  trying  to  govern  the 
people  for  their  benefit,  although  not  permitting  them  a 
thinking  part  in  the  government,  does  it  not  follow  that 
his  methods  incapacitate  the  people  for  self-government? 
How  can  a  child  learn  to  walk  except  by  trying,  and 
even  though  the  child  stumbles  and  falls,  is  bruised  and 
hurt,  these  experiences  are  part  of  the  education  in  walk- 
ing. 

The  right  to  vote  is  the  test  of  freedom.  Rob  a  free 
man  of  his  voting  right  and  you  make  of  him  something 
less  than  a  free  man.  It  does  not  matter  whether  you 
treat  him  well  or  not,  if  you  rule  him  without  giving  him 
a  say  in  his  own  government,  you  destroy  his  independ- 
ence. Suppose  the  constitution  of  a  debating  society,  a 
lodge,  a  farmer's  grange,  a  labor  union,  declared  that 
some  members  could  hold  office  and  vote,  while 
others  were  not  eligible  for  office  and  could  not  vote. 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  145 

What  would  be  the  position  in  the  body  of  those  who 
were  denied  all  right  of  participation  in  its  affairs? 
They  would  be  compelled  to  obey  the  rules,  do  the 
bidding  and  bow  to  the  wish  of  those  who  had  the  right 
to  vote.  What  would  be  the  effect  upon  the  vote- 
less ones  ?  They  would  be  demoralized ;  they  would 
become  nonentities.  Those  possessing  the  voting 
power  would  grow  arrogant,  arbitrary  and  autocratic. 
The  war  of  the  ages,  the  struggle  of  all  history  has  been 
the  fight  of  men  for  equality  in  government.  The  right 
to  vote  is  the  supreme  test. 

Experience  has  formulated  certain  tests  by  which  it 
is  safe  to  fix  the  credibility  of  witnesses  and  determine 
the  value  and  weight  that  should  be  given  to  their  testi- 
mony. It  is  of  first  importance  that  the  witness  has  had 
opportunity  to  know  the  facts  about  which  he  testifies. 

Oscar  Tokoi,  prime  minister  of  Finland,  spent  sev- 
eral months  in  Russia.  He  had  plenty  of  opportunity  to 
observe  the  operation  of  the  Bolshevist  Government  and 
conditions  in  Russia.  He  entered  Russia  as  a  Bolshevist 
sympathizer.     Here  are  his  words : 

In  comparison  with  the  entire  population  only  a  small 
minority  supports  the  government,  and  what  is  worse,  to 
the  support  of  the  government  are  rallying  all  the  hooligans, 
robbers  and  others  to  whom  this  period  of  confusion  prom- 
ises a  good  chance  of  individual  action. 

Even  a  great  part  of  those  who  from  the  beginning  have 
stood  with  the  government  and  who  still  are  sincere  socialist 
democrats,  having  seen  all  this  chaos,  begin  to  step  aside  or 
to  ally  themselves  with  those  openly  opposing  the  govern- 
ment.    Naturally  as  time  goes  by  there  remains  only  the 


146  THE  NEW  WORLD 

worst  and  most  demoralized  element.  Terror,  arbitrary  rule 
and  open  brigandage  become  more  and  more  usual,  and  the 
government  is  not  able  to  prevent  it. 

Karl  Radek,  a  leading  Bolshevist,  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  the  peasants  do  not  v^ant  Soviet  rule.  In 
an  interview  in  Berlin  given  to  a  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  Globe,  he  said: 

The  claim  made  by  some  of  our  people  that  the  majority 
of  the  Russian  people  favor  a  Soviet  Government  is  not 
true.    The  peasants  are  against  the  Soviet  Government. 

Lenin's  special  defense  has  been  that  the  "class-con- 
scious" proletariat,  those  to  whom  he  gives  credit  for 
bringing  about  the  revolution,  favor  the  Bolshevist  gov- 
ernment. The  government  is  defined  to  be  a  "dictator- 
ship of  the  proletariat."  If  the  proletariat  are  not  in 
favor  of  the  government,  then  it  is  obviously  a  dicta- 
torship of  Lenin  and  Trotzky  alone  maintained  by  the 
"Red"  Guard.  Samuel  Gompers,  patriot  and  grand  old 
man  of  organized  labor  in  the  United  States,  quotes  the 
following  from  the  Bolshevist  Communar  of  May  17, 
1919: 

"The  Sytin  Printing  Works  employs  1600  persons.  In  the 
communist  nucleus  there  are  ten  communists  and  sixty  sym- 
pathizers. After  the  meeting  at  which  an  anti-Kolchak 
resolution  was  defeated,  a  "vindication  committee"  was 
elected  to  explain  in  the  press  the  true  attitude  of  the  shop: 
"The  workers  of  the  shop  are  against  Kolchak,  but  they 
would  not  adopt  the  resolution,  because  it  came  from  the 
Bolsheviki." 

"Postavschik" — employs  2,660  workmen.    The  nucleus  has 


THE  SOVIET  MACHINE  147 

thirty-six  communists  and  ten  sympathizers.  Of  these  there 
are  only  eight  persons  in  the  place  and  no  party  work  is 
therefore  conducted.  The  shop  committee  consists  of  com- 
munists. Literature  is  well  distributed,  700  copies  of  news- 
papers and  from  15  to  200  copies  of  magazines. 

Here  we  see  that  even  the  immense  Soviet  subsidies  for 
propaganda  are  futile  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  workers 
are  advanced  socialists,  shut  off  from  the  outside  world  and 
without  an  independent  press.  It  will  be  noted  that  in  the 
most  of  these  factories  the  economic  dependence  of  the  work- 
ers on  the  Soviets  for  jobs,  bread  tickets  and  factory  subsi- 
dies, to  say  nothing  of  terrorism,  has  led  to  Bolshevist  com- 
mittees of  shop  officials. 

"Bromley" — 1200  workers  employed.  The  group  consists 
of  ten  communists  and  fifteen  sympathizers.  The  group 
meets  every  week.  The  factory  committee  is  communist,  the 
general  state  of  mind  is  improving. 

"Einem" — employs  1400  workers,  850  of  whom  are 
women.  The  nucleus  is  forty  communists  and  eight  sym- 
pathizers. Their  influence  in  the  factory  is  little.  The  pre- 
siding officers  of  the  shop  are  communists.  Lectures >  are 
arranged  occasionally.    Newspapers  are  well  distributed. 

"Centrosoyuz" — 900  workingmen  are  employed.  The  nu- 
cleus twenty-five  communists  and  four  sympathizers.  The 
women  are  very  backward  and  party  work  among  them  is 
very  difficult. 

"The  Electric  Station  of  1886" — 1300  workmen  are  em- 
ployed. The  communistic  group  has  twenty-seven  members. 
Party  work  is  not  being  conducted.  The  general  state  of 
mind  is  calm.     The  shop  committee  is  communist. 

This  publication  (the  Bolshevist  Communar)  lists  1600 
workers  in  one  part  of  Moscow  and  finds  among  these  687 
Bolshevist  party  members  and  sympathizers.  The  one  union 
mentioned  in  the  district  shows  about  one-half  of  its  mem- 
bership in  these  two  classes. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY 

According  to  the  Bolshevist  rulers  of  Russia  all  the 
world  is  old-fashioned — ^behind  the  times.  We  still  cling 
to  the  belief  that  the  people  should  be  the  sovereigns, 
that  public  officials  are  public  servants,  that  the  safest 
plan  of  government  is  that  form  of  government  which 
is  nearest  to  the  people.  In  the  United  States  each  citi- 
zen has  a  vote  for  the  men  who  make  the  local  laws,  the 
city  or  village  ordinances ;  a  vote  for  the  man  who  en- 
forces the  ordinances,  the  mayor;  a  vote  for  the  repre- 
sentatives in  the  state  legislature,  where  the  laws  are 
made;  for  the  governor,  who  enforces  the  state  laws;  a 
vote  for  the  congressmen  and  senators  who  enact  the 
national  laws  and  formulate  the  national  policies,  and  a 
vote  for  the  president,  who  carries  out  the  supreme  law 
of  the  land.  While  it  is  true  that  in  the  case  of  the 
president,  we  vote  for  electors  who  elect  the  president, 
the  electors  vote  instructed  by  the  people.  We  come  to- 
gether in  political  parties,  present  platforms,  and  ever^' 
citizen  has  a  chance  to  register  his  opinion  of  men  and 
measures.  The  citizen  has  a  right  to  vote  at  primary 
elections  for  party  candidates  and  for  the  delegates  to 
the  conventions  which  formulate  the  party  platforms. 

148 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY     149 

The  Bolsheviki  point  out  that  pohtical  parties  do  not 
live  up  to  their  platforms ;  that  candidates  for  office  de- 
fault in  their  promises  after  elected ;  that  representative 
democracy  is  frequently  not  representative  of  the  peo- 
ple. We  have  the  power  to  express  our  wants,  to  record 
our  will  and  we  also  have  the  power  to  punish  our  be- 
trayal. We  can  recall  from  office  recreant  public  ser- 
vants ;  we  can  add  to  our  legislation  by  assuming  the 
power  to  initiate  laws,  and  by  compelling  the  reference 
of  legislation  back  to  the  people  before  it  can  become 
operative  as  law.  Our  public  officials  are  merely  our 
agents ;  we  hire  them,  we  pay  them ;  we  can  discharge 
them  and  punish  them  if  they  fail  to  obey  our  instruc- 
tions. Such  is  our  power.  If  we  do  not  use  the  power 
intelligently  and  effectively  it  is  our  fault.  If  we  are 
indifferent  to  the  rights  we  possess  and  fail  to  use  them, 
the  fault  is  with  us.  Therefore,  we  do  not  condemn  a 
system  of  representative  government  because  some  of 
the  individuals  in  that  government  are  unfit  and  un- 
worthy of  the  rights  they  enjoy. 

The  Bolsheviki  favor  a  change  in  the  method  of  gov- 
erning the  people.  The  plan  adopted  is  based  on  the 
theory  that  the  people  cannot  be  trusted,  but  that  the 
officeholders  are  above  suspicion.  Bolshevism  is  gov- 
ernment from  the  top  down,  rather  than  from  the  bot- 
tom up.  They  work  on  the  idea  that  power  delegated 
through  many  hands  will  lose  its  corruption  just  as  run- 
ning water  does. 

There  is  a  numeral  whicH  we  know  as  the  "jester"  of 
numbers.    It  is  the  number  "23."    It  is  known  in  Amer- 


I50  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ican  slang  as  "skiddoo."  The  Bolsheviki  inserted  in  the 
constitution  a  joker,  and  oddly  enough  they  gave  it  the 
"skiddoo"  number,  "23."  It  is  found  in  Article  2  of 
the  constitution : 

Being  guided  by  the  interest  of  the  working  class  as  a 
whole,  the  Russian  Socialist  Federal  Soviet  Republic  de- 
prives all  individuals  and  groups  of  all  rights  which  could 
be  utilized  by  them  to  the  detriment  of  the  socialist  revolu- 
tion. 

Here  is  the  big  beware  sign  in  the  constitution.  What 
does  it  mean ;  what  fears  must  come  into  the  minds  of 
men  and  women  in  Russia  when  they  read  this  para- 
graph? The  constitution  deprives  every  one,  individ- 
ually and  collectively,  of  exercising  any  rights  he  or  they 
may  have  which  are  opposed  to  Bolshevism.  Did  tyran- 
ny ever  impose  a  more  arbitrary,  autocratic  ukase?  The 
paragraph  first  concedes  that  individuals  and  groups 
have  rights,  and  then  commands  the  people  not  to  dare 
use  those  rights.  Freedom  of  opinion  is  crushed,  even 
thought  is  silenced.  Who  is  to  determine  what  rights, 
if  exercised,  might  be  detrimental  to  a  socialist  revolu- 
tion ?  The  meaning  is  as  plain  as  the  command  is  stern. 
Fall  in  line  with  Bolshevism  or  perish,  is  the  order. 

I  wonder  what  the  militant  soap-boxers,  who  shout 
about  freedom  of  speech,  would  think  and  say  if  in  these 
days  of  unrest  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  and 
the  President  should  make  such  a  pronouncement.  Amer- 
ica, radical  and  conservative,  would  rise  in  protest 
against  any  such  law.  We  live,  grow  and  progress  as 
a  people  because  of  our  freedom  of  thought,  speech  and 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY     151 

action.  We  silence  the  man  who  criminally  advocates 
lawlessness,  and  we  do  it  for  the  same  reason  that  we 
arrest  the  man  who  spits  on  the  sidewalk.  It  is  to  con- 
serve the  public  welfare,  the  common  good  of  the  great 
majority  who  do  not  believe  in  violence  and  disorder. 
What  would  happen  to  our  "Red"  agitators  if  they  were 
in  Russia  to-day  and  ventured  a  single  disagreement 
with  the  Bolshevist  program,  either  in  policy  or  methods  ? 
This  constitutional  provision  is  not  a  muffler  on  free 
speech,  it  is  a  gag. 

What  freedom  can  there  be  in  a  country  in  which 
opinion  is  shackled?  How  can  a  nation  make  progress 
except  by  the  conflict  and  friction  of  opinion?  In  the 
United  States,  experience  has  taught  us  that  the  ma- 
jority is  generally  right,  that  the  many  can  be  trusted. 
We  have  put  into  practice  the  idea  that  many  heads  are 
better  than  one.  The  Bolshevist  powers  insist  the  fewer 
heads  the  better.  This  is  the  method  they  adopted  to 
socialize  freedom  of  thought,  freedom  of  speech.  It 
means  a  commimism  of  ideas,  but  a  very  limited  com- 
munism. Limited  in  fact  to  the  "Holy  Seventeen,"  and 
the  oracle-dictator.  The  people  are  outside  the  pale 
of  this  communism.  In  their  zone  communism  com- 
mands obedience  and  silence.  The  human  race  has 
fought  many  a  fine  fight  to  take  the  fetters  from  the 
minds  of  men,  and  no  fight  was  ever  made  for  a  more 
essential  liberty.  When  the  mind  of  man  is  not  free, 
what  freedom  can  there  be?  The  jailing  of  the  body, 
serious  as  it  is,  is  only  a  small  interference  with  man's 
liberty  compared  with  the  imprisonment  of  his  mind. 


152  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  Bolshevist  clamp  muzzles  the  press,  and  tliis  is 
one  of  the  most  serious  phases  in  the  present  situation. 
Notwithstanding  all  the  criticism  which  may  be  justly 
made  against  the  press,  the  fact  remains  that  the  news- 
papers of  the  world  have  been  a  great  force  for  good, 
a  great  power  in  securing  freedom.  We  see  the  world 
through  the  eyes  of  the  newspaper;  it  is  our  source 
of  information ;  we  depend  upon  it  for  the  facts 
upon  which  we  base  our  opinions.  Notwithstanding  the 
bitter  partisan  character  of  much  of  the  press,  few  pa- 
pers know  party  lines  or  party  prejudice  when  public 
interest  is  menaced.  The  press  has  thrown  a  terrilic 
searchlight  on  ratholes  and  driven  out  the  rats.  The 
freedom  of  the  press  is  indispensable  to  free  government. 

Lenin,  before  he  came  into  power,  was  the  loudest 
voice  in  Russia,  crying  for  free  speech.  His  pen  had 
been  most  bitter  against  interference  with  the  freedom 
of  the  press.  In  his  pamphlet,  "Lessons  of  Revolution," 
he  wrote: 

The  printing  establishments  of  the  labor  press  are  raided. 
The  Bolsheviki  are  arrested,  not  infrequently  without  accu- 
sation, or  on  the  pretext  of  charges  which  are  simply  calum- 
nious. 

It  may  be  argued  that  the  prosecution  of  the  Bolsheviki  is 
by  no  means  a  violation  of  free  speech,  since  only  certain 
persons  on  specific  charges  are  thus  prosecuted.  But  such 
arguments  bear  the  earmarks  of  premeditated  untruth.  For 
why  should  printing  offices  be  raided,  newspapers  sup- 
pressed, for  the  crimes  of  individuals,  even  if  these  crimes 
are  proven  and  sustained  by  law  ?  It  would  be  altogether 
different   if   the   government   declared   criminal   the   entire 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY     153 

--» 
Bolshevist  party,  its  ideas  and  views.    But  every  one  knows 
"that  the  government  of  free  Russia  never  could,  and  indeed 
never  attempted  to  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

There  is  not  a  word  in  the  Soviet  Constitution  about 
the  right  of  a  trial  by  jury.  There  is  no  such  thing  in- 
tended. Under  the  American  Constitution,  and  in  that 
of  every  civilized  country,  the  citizen  has  the  right  to 
submit  his  case  to  a  jury  of  his  Peers  vi^hen  accused  of 
any  crime  or  misdemeanor.  He  has  the  right  to  appeal 
to  a  court,  that  is  independent  of  the  Executive  Powder 
and  the  Legislative  Povv^er,  for  the  protection  of  any 
and  every  right,  the  deprivation  of  which  is  threatened. 
This  right  IS  the  safeguard  of  the  liberty  of  the  poorest 
and  most  friendless  individual.  He  has  the  right  to  the 
assistance  of  counsel,  and  to  force  the  attendance  of 
witnesses  in  his  defense.  If  he  is  detained  without  a 
charge  being  made  against  him,  held  without  warrant 
in  law,  he  can  appeal  to  the  courts  and  compel  the  high- 
est officers  of  the  law  to  show  cause  why  he  is  being  de- 
prived of  his  liberty. 

Not  so  under  the  Socialist  Constitution  of  Russia.  All 
power — executive,  legislative  and  judicial — is  placed  in 
the  same  hands.  There  is  no  appeal  from  the  decisions 
of  this  autocratic  court,  and  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
does  not  exist. 

Lenin  coming  into  power  wrote  into  the  constitution 
new  crimes,  and  he  left  out  of  the  law  the  right  of  a 
fair  trial  for  those  accused.  He  declared  all  opposition 
to  the  Bolshevist  program  a  crime.  Thereupon,  he 
struck  down   freedom  of  thought,   freedom  of  speech* 


154  THE  NEW  WORLD 

freedom  of  opinion,  freedom  of  the  press,  and  freedom 
of  Justice. 

BOLSHEVISM  IS  A  RULE  OF  FORCE 
The  effort  to  socialize  politics   did  not   democratize 
politics ;  it  was  not  intended  to.     In  practical  operation, 
it  fulfilled  its  purpose,  it  created  a  political  autocracy. 

The  greatest  power  in  Russia  to-day  is  the  "Red" 
army.  Without  an  army  a  minority  government  cannot 
exist.  Force  is  the  strength  and  security  of  minority 
rule.  Bayonets  held  the  Czar  on  his  throne,  the  same 
weapons  hold  the  Lenin-Trotzky  government  in  author- 
ity. Every  inducement  has  been  offered  men  to  join  the 
army.  This  is  practically  the  only  real  job  in  Russia 
to-day.  The  soldier  is  at  least  guaranteed  good  food  and 
a  warm  bunk.  He  escapes  the  danger  of  cold  and  starva- 
tion. Living  conditions  are  better  in  the  "Red"  army 
than  in  any  other  occupation. 

Section  19  of  Article  3  of  the  constitution  is  interest- 
ing: 

For  the  purpose  of  defending  the  victory  of  the  great 
peasants'  and  workers'  revolution,  the  Russian  Socialist  Fed- 
eral Soviet  Republic  recognizes  the  duty  of  all  citizens  of 
the  republic  to  come  to  the  defense  of  their  socialist  father- 
land, and  it,  therefore,  introduces  universal  military  train- 
ing. The  honor  of  defending  the  revolution  with  arms  is 
accorded  only  to  the  workers,  and  the  non-working  elements 
are  charged  with  the  performance  of  other  military  duties. 

No  one  except  the  "Reds"  in  Russia  is  allowed  to  pos- 
sess or  carry  arms.  This  rule  is  strictly  enforced,  and 
searches  for  arms  have  been  made  almost  weekly.     As 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF'LIBERTY     155 

a  consequence,  the  one  armed  force  in  Russia  to-day  is 
the  "Red"  army,  and  this  is  the  backbone  of  the  Bol- 
shevist government.  The  people  are  utterly  helpless. 
As  long  as  the  army  is  well  fed,  warm  and  well  clothed, 
it  will  continue  to  be  the  most  popular  employment  in 
Russia. 

Carrying  out  its  general  plan  of  socialization,  the  Bol- 
shevist government  stripped  army  officers  of  rank,  and 
in  doing  so,  tried  to  live  up  to  the  constitution  forbidding 
the  bourgeoisie  entering  the  army.  However,  this  theory, 
like  many  others,  did  not  work  out  in  practice.  Skill  in 
military  direction  is  indispensable  to  an  effective  military 
machine.  Facing  civil  war,  with  the  "Red"  army  alone 
between  the  government  and  disaster,  Lenin  and  Trotzky 
found  it  expedient  to  ignore  the  constitution.  It  was 
necessary  to  have  trained  men  as  officers,  and  the  bour- 
geoisie to  whom  they  had  denied  citizenship  and  the 
honor  of  defending  the  republic,  were  called  upon  to 
advise  the  army. 

Albert  Rhyse  Williams  is  a  devoted  friend  of  Lenin's. 
He  was  so  enamored  with  the  Bolshevist  movement 
that  he  offered  to  join  the  "Red"  army.  He  has  written 
a  biography  of  Lenin,  from  which  I  quote: 

He  (Lenin)  sent  an  automobile  with  "Red"  guards  to  the 
fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul  to  fetch  part  of  the  counter-revo- 
lutionary staff  in  prison  there. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Lenin,  as  the  generals  filed  into  his 
office.  "I  have  brought  you  here  for  expert  advice — Petro- 
grad  is  in  danger.  Will  you  be  good  enough  to  work  out  the 
military  tactics  for  its  defense?"    They  assented. 


156  THE  NEW  WORLD 

"Here  are  our  forces,"  resumed  Lenin,  indicating  upon 
the  map  the  location  of  the  "Red"  troops,  munitions  and 
reserves.  "And  here  are  our  latest  reports  upon  the  number 
and  disposition  of  the  enemy  troops.  Anything  else  the  gen- 
erals desire  they  will  call  for." 

They  set  to  work  and  toward  evening  handed  him  the 
result  of  their  deliberations.  "Now,"  said  the  generals,  in- 
gratiatingly, "will  the  premier  be  good  enough  to  allow  us 
more  comfortable  quarters  ?" 

"My  exceeding  regrets,"  replied  Lenin;  "some  other  time, 
but  not  just  now.  Your  quarters,  gentlemen,  may  not  be 
comfortable  but  they  have  the  merit  of  being  safe."  The 
stafif  was  returned  to  the  fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul. 

I  have  given  this  excerpt  from  the  life  of  Lenin,  not 
because  the  incident  is  important,  but  because  it  illus- 
trates the  difference  between  Bolshevist  theory  and  prac- 
tice. I  am  not  criticizing  Lenin's  good  sense  in  prompt- 
ly abandoning  the  foolish  theory  he  wrote  in  the  consti- 
tution— I  am  trying  to  emphasize  the  foolishness  and  im- 
practicability of  the  theory. 

So  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  experiment  called 
Bolshevism,  its  leaders  broke  their  promises  and  treach- 
erously struck  down  the  people's  convention,  the  constit- 
uent assembly.  Evidence  of  their  breach  of  faith  is 
found  in  the  first  proclamation  issued  by  the  Bolshevist 
government. 

Second,  they  commanded  the  peasants  to  seize  the 
land,  and  by  so  doing  they  gave  sanction  to  dishonesty. 

Third,  they  sent  democratic  methods  and  machinery  to 
the  scrap  pile  and  built  the  Soviet  machine,  a  plan  of  gov- 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY     157 

ernment  which  robbed  the  people  of  all  say  in  their  own 
affairs. 

Fourth,  they  founded  their  government  on  force,  the 
right  of  might. 

Fifth,  they  delivered  the  power  to  a  class  of  office- 
holders. 

Sixth,  they  discriminated  against  the  "poor  peasants." 

Seventh,  they  disfranchised  good  Russian  men  and 
women,  whose  only  fault  was  that  they  were  thrifty  and 
industrious. 

Eighth,  they  destroyed  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the 
press. 

Ninth,  they  stood  for  revolution  and  blood,  instead  of 
political  action  and  evolution. 

Tenth,  last  but  of  the  greatest  moment,  the  Bolshevist 
government  built  its  national  house  on  the  dangerous 
foundation  of  minority  rule.  One  evidence  of  the  mi- 
nority rule  in  Bolshevist  Russia  is  found  in  the  1919 
registration  of  voters  in  Moscow  and  Petrograd.  It  is 
estimated  that  Moscow  has  a  population  of  almost  a 
million  and  a  half,  yet  out  of  this  great  number  only 
13,600  voters  registered.  Petrograd,  with  a  population 
of  between  600,000  and  750,000,  registered  a  little  less 
than  15,000  voters.  These  two  cities  are  admitted  to  be 
the  strongholds  of  Bolshevism.  The  registration  figures 
show  that  about  one  per  cent  of  the  people  of  Moscow 
and  Petrograd  are  sufficiently  attached  to  Bolshevism  to 
register. 

Bolshevism  snuffed  out  the  light  in  Russia  when  it 
killed  freedom.    It  did  not  destroy  thought.    It  has  not 


158  THE  NEW  WORLD 

conquered  the  manhood  and  womanhood  of  Russia;  it 
has  but  disarmed  them. 

Somewhere  I  have  heard  or  read  that  tolerance  is  a 
quahty  of  freedom ;  that  intolerance  is  a  symptom  of  des- 
potism. Maybe  I  am  thinking  of  the  Greek  conception, 
the  idea  of  Plato.  Surely,  tolerance  is  no  part  of*  the 
Bolshevist  program.  In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  work- 
ers of  Europe  and  America,  dated  January  21,  1919, 
Lenin  wrote: 

Now,  no  conscientious  working  man  and  no  sincere  So- 
cialist can  fail  to  see  what  shameful  treason  against  social- 
ism was  perpetrated  by  those*  who,  in  line  with  the  Menshe- 
viki  of  Russia,  with  the  Scheidemanns  and  Suedekums  of 
Germany,  with  the  Renaudels  of  France,  and  Vanderveldes 
of  Belgium;  with  the  Hendersons  and  Webs  in  England,  and 
with  Gompers  and  Co.  in  America,  supported  their  bour- 
geoisie in  the  war  of  1914-1918. 

Another  paragraph  from  the  same  letter : 

Side  by  side  with  these  cowardly  pennywise  mongers  who 
are  stuffed  with  the  prejudices  of  bourgeois  democracy,  side 
by  side  with  these  Socialists,  who  yesterday  defended  "their" 
imperialistic  governments,  and  who  to-day  confine  themselves 
to  platonic  "protest"  against  "military  intervention  in  Rus- 
sia," side  by  side  with  them,  we  see  in  the  Allied  countries 
an  increase  in  the  number  of  those  who  have  chosen  the 
communist  road. 

Lenin  attacks  Samuel  Gompers,  the  president  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor,  and  the  labor  movement 
of  America,  for  loyalty  to  our  country  in  the  hour  of 
her  greatest  trial.    Lenin  brands  every  soldier  and  sailor 


THE  SOVIET  DEFINITION  OF  LIBERTY     159 

who  offered  his  life  to  stop  the  Kaiser  and  his  Prussian 
machine  in  the  mad  effort  to  conquer  the  world,  a  sup- 
porter of  the  bourgoisie.  Lenin  assails  and  condemns 
the  manhood  of  the  world  that  answered  the  "help"  cry 
of  Belgium  when  Prussia  was  raping  and  murdering 
Belgium  in  the  front  yard  of  Europe.  What  would  have 
happened  to  Russia  if  these  brave  men  whom  Lenin  now; 
assails  had  not  offered  themselves?  Russia  would  have 
been  lashed  to  the  Kaiser's  chariot,  Christ  chained  to  a 
Kruppgun, 

The  first  of  all  the  Bolsheviki  will  not  go  down  in 
history  as — "Lenin  the  Tolerant." 


CHAPTER  XIII 
CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY 

On  November  lo,  1917,  the  Bolshevist  government 
came  into  existence.  One  month  later  a  decree  was  is- 
sued abolishing  the  private  ownership  of  land  and  de- 
creeing all  the  land  the  property  of  the  state.  On  Feb- 
ruary 10  the  government  issued  a  decree  declaring  all 
state  loans,  internal  and  foreign,  null  and  void. 

The  Bolsheviki  wrote  their  revolutionary  reform  into 
the  constitution: 

For  the  purpose  of  attaining  the  socialization  of  land, 
all  private  property  in  land  is  abolished  and  the  entire  land 
is  declared  to  be  national  property  and  is  to  be  apportioned 
among  the  agriculturists  without  any  compensation  to  the 
former  owners  in  the  measure  of  each  one's  ability  to  till  it. 

This  was  at  least  a  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  their 
economic  program.  It  was  communism  through  confis- 
cation. The  peasants  in  Russia  seized  the  land.  They 
did  not  have  to  be  persuaded  to  follow  this  command  of 
the  constitution.  But  they  did  not  take  the  land  as  users, 
as  the  constitution  contemplated.  They  took  it  as  own- 
ers. They  are  not  communists.  Their  experience  with 
communal  land  ownership  had  been  unsatisfactory.  Un- 
der the  old  regime  these  peasants  were  allotted  land  by 

160 


CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY         i6i 

the  communal  Mir.  In  the  Mir  the  tenancy  of  a  farmer 
was  temporary  and  uncertain.  The  average  length  of  the 
lease  was  about  thirteen  years.  Drawings  were  held  and 
the  land  distributed  by  lot.  With  a  new  drawing  the  peas- 
ant was  compelled  to  move  to  the  new  strip  of  land  allot- 
ted him.  This  plan  took  from  the  peasant  much  of  his  in- 
ducement to  put  his  best  work  into  the  land.  He  had 
little  incentive  for  improving  the  land,  for  it  was  not 
his.  At  the  next  drawing  it  would  probably  go  to  an- 
other, and  he  in  turn  would  be  shifted  to  a  piece  of 
land  which  might  have  been  neglected  and  allowed  to 
deteriorate.  The  peasant's  irritating  experiences  with 
communism  created  an  intense  desire  in  him  to  own  his 
own  land,  to  have  a  permanent  home,  something  to  work 
on  and  to  work  for.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  country 
in  the  world  where  the  desire  for  private  ownership  of 
land  is  as  deeply  rooted  as  it  is  in  Russia. 

So  at  the  outset  of  the  Bolshevist  program  we  find  the 
Soviet  government  attempting  a  communistic  program 
completely  antagonistic  to  the  peasants.  Between  the 
villages  in  Russia  are  great  landed  estates,  the  proprie- 
tary lands  which  are  the  best  in  the  vicinity  and  well 
cared  for.  When  the  order  to  seize  the  land  was  given, 
the  peasants  turned  to  the  proprietary  lands.  The  vil- 
lages fought  with  each  other  for  possession  and  division 
of  these  splendid  estates.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
general  disorder,  small  civil  wars.  The  government 
itself  had  immorally,  decreed  land  larceny,  the  example 
was  being  followed. 

The  government  attempted  to  force  its  program  abol- 


i62  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ishing  the  private  ownership  of  land.  The  leaders  tried 
to  justify  the  confiscation  by  saying  that  the  earth  be- 
longed to  the  people;  that  private  title  to  land  was  im- 
moral and  corrupt;  that  every  man  should  have  all  the 
land  he  could  actually  work  and  not  one  acre  more. 
They  argued  that  if  a  man  had  more  land  than  he  could 
work,  one  of  two  things  would  happen,  either  he  would 
allow  his  surplus  land  to  remain  idle,  w^hich  would  be 
waste,  or  he  would  hire  some  one  to  w^ork  it  for  him. 
These  leaders  said  the  hired  man  would  be  either  a  farm 
laborer  or  a  tenant,  and  whichever  relation  he  bore  to 
the  owner  of  the  land  he  would  be  compelled  to  turn 
over  part  of  his  labor  to  the  land  owner.  If  he  was  a 
renter,  the  rent  would  be  the  landlord's  profit,  in  the 
language  of  the  Bolsheviki  the  "exploitation"  of  the 
tenant,  while  if  a  farm  laborer,  the  wages  he  received 
would  represent  something  less  than  the  full  product  of 
his  toil.  This,  too,  would  be  to  the  profit  of  the  em- 
ployer and,  again,  in  the  language  of  the  Bolsheviki  the 
"exploitation  of  the  worker." 

The  Bolsheviki  argued  that  their  plan  of  land  commu- 
nization  would  make  better  citizens,  that  the  hired  man 
man,  made  a  land  user,  would  be  given  an  inducement  to 
work.  But  the  title  to  the  land  was  not  to  be  his,  nor 
was  the  product  of  his  toil  to  belong  to  him.  He  was  to 
work  for  the  state.  The  state  was  ovner  and  boss.  In 
theory  the  peasant  was  to  work  for  the  common  good  of 
all — a  fine  bit  of  idealism,  but  unfortunately  entirely 
contrary  to  human  nature.  The  success  of  the  plan  de- 
pended upon  human  beings. 


CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY         163 

Two  things  resulted.  One  class  of  peasants  worked 
the  land  just  enough  to  produce  what  they  and  their 
families  needed,  for  they  reasoned,  "Why  should  we 
work  after  our  needs  are  supplied?"  This  not  unnat- 
ural attitude  of  mind  reduced  production.  Of  course, 
it  was  a  selfish  attitude,  but  human  nature  has  not 
evolved  out  of  the  self-interest  stage.  The  theory  which 
the  Bolsheviki  promised  would  increase  production  on 
the  land,  in  practice  decreased  production. 

Another  class  of  peasants  worked  hard,  produced 
much,  but  refused  to  give  up  the  product  of  their  labor 
to  the  state.  They  insisted  that  the  result  of  their  labor 
belonged  to  themselves. 

Both  classes  were  individualists.  When  they  seized 
the  land  under  Lenin's  decree  they  were  individualists 
and  took  it  for  themselves.  Before  the  revolution  they 
were  individualists  and  the  big  cry  of  their  lives  was 
against  the  system  which  deprived  them  of  the  right  to 
own  the  land  they  tilled  and  the  product  that  came  from 
it  through  their  toil.  The  peasants,  like  most  other  peo- 
ple who  have  anything,  are  not  communists  in  prac- 
tice, when  the  operation  of  communism  affects  their  own 
holdings.  It  may  be  and  probably  is  an  ugly,  unfortu- 
nate truth,  but  it  is  a  truth  just  the  same,  that  the  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  human  race  are  selfish,  at  least 
to  the  extent  of  wanting  the  personal  joy  of  acquiring 
and  owning  property. 

For  a  time  those  peasants  who  had  a  surplus  sold  their 
products  to  the  government.  In  payment  they  received 
paper  money  of  very  doubtful  value.     Then  began  the 


i64  THE  NEW  WORLD 

hoarding  of  farm  products.  The  peasants  refused  to 
deliver  their  gain  in  exchange  for  questionable  paper. 
They  demanded  in  exchange  for  their  farm  products 
manufactured  articles  which  they  needed.  The  govern- 
ment did  not  have  the  manufactured  articles  with  which 
to  buy  the  farm  products.  The  proletariat  of  the  cities 
was  hungry.  It  was  up  to  the  Bolshevist  government  to 
feed  them  or  fall.  Whatever  support  the  government 
had  was  in  the  cities.  Raiding  parties  of  the  "Red" 
Guard  were  ordered  to  the  country  and  directed  to  seize 
the  grain.  The  peasants  not  only  believed  in  private 
ownership  but  they  united  to  fight  to  protect  their  pri- 
vate property.  The  story  of  the  "Red"  army's  invasion 
of  the  country  to  loot  the  peasants'  stores  will  some  day 
be  told  in  detail,  and  it  will  furnish  an  interesting  chapter 
of  tragedies. 

The  socialization  of  land  never  had  a  chance  for  suc- 
cess in  Russia.  Lenin  and  Trotzky  were  compelled  to 
repudiate  their  program  and  abandon  land  communism. 
Receding  from  its  plan  of  land  socialism  the  Bolshevist 
government  made  an  effort  to  use  the  proprietary  es- 
tates on  a  cooperative  plan.  The  problem  of  feeding  the 
proletariat  of  the  cities  still  remained.  When  induce- 
ments failed  threats  were  made  in  an  effort  to  get  the 
peasants  to  work  the  proprietary  estates  for  the  govern- 
ment. Graft,  inefficiency  of  administration  and  the  re- 
fusal of  the  peasants  to  work  the  estates  caused  the  fail- 
ure of  this  plan. 

Kerzhenstey,  in  Izvestia,  an  official  Bolshevist  news* 


CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY         165 

paper,  of  January  22,  1919,  gives  the  following  picture 
of  the  situation : 

The  facts  describing  the  village  Soviet  of  the  Uran  bor- 
ough present  a  shocking  picture  which  is  no  doubt  typical  of 
all  other  corners  of  our  provincial  Soviet  life.  The  chair- 
man of  this  village  Soviet,  Rekhalev,  and  his  nearest  co- 
workers, have  done  all  in  their  power  to  antagonize  the 
population  against  the  Soviet  rule.  Rekhalev  himself  has 
often  been  found  in  an  intoxicated  condition  and  he  has 
frequently  assaulted  the  local  inhabitants.  The  beating  up 
of  visitors  to  the  Soviet  office  is  an  ordinary  occurrence.  In 
the  village  of  Bierezovka  the  peasants  have  been  thrashed, 
not  only  with  fists  but  have  been  assaulted  with  sticks,  robbed 
of  their  footwear  and  cast  into  damp  cellars,  on  bare  earthen 
floors.  The  members  of  the  executive  committee,  Glakhov, 
Morev  and  Makhov,  and  others,  have  gone  even  further. 
They  have  organized  "requisition  parties"  which  are  nothing 
else  but  organized  pillagings,  in  the  course  of  which  they 
have  used  wire-wrapped  sticks  on  the  recalcitrants.  The 
abundant  testimony  verified  by  the  Soviet  committee  por- 
trays a  very  striking  picture  of  violence.  When  these  mem- 
bers of  the  executive  committee  arrived  at  the  township  of 
Sadomovo  they  commenced  to  assault  the  population  and 
to  rob  them  of  foodstuffs  and  other  household  belongings 
such  as  quilts,  clothing,  harness  and  so  forth.  No  receipts 
for  the  requisitioned  goods  were  given  and  no  money  paid. 
They  even  resold  to  others  on  the  spot  some  of  the  bread- 
stuffs  which  they  had  requisitioned. 

This  is  the  testimony  of  a  leader  high  in  the  councils 
of  the  Bolshevist  government. 

Latzis,  a  Bolshevist  partisan,  reported  in  the  official 
Izvestia  of  January  5,  191 9,  that  "In  the  Velizsh  county 


i66  THE  NEW  WORLD 

of  the  province  of  Vitebsk  they  are  flogging  the  peasants 
by  the  authority  of  the  local  Soviet  committee." 

In  the  Bolshevist  newspaper  Severnaya  Kommuna  of 
May  lo,  1919,  a  Bolshevist  official,  Krivoshaye,  remarks: 

The  Soviet  workers  are  taking  from  the  peasants  chickens, 
geese,  bread  and  butter  without  paying  for  it.  In  some 
households  of  these  poverty-stricken  folk  they  are  confiscat- 
ing even  the  pillows  and  the  samovars  and  everything  they 
can  get  their  hands  on.  The  peasants  naturally  feel  very 
bitter  toward  the  Soviet  rule. 

The  peasants'  borough  meeting  of  the  province  of 
Kostroma  forwarded  a  resolution  to  Lenin  saying: 

The  members  of  the  Soviets  are  ruling  us;  they  are  violat- 
ing our  will  and  are  tantalizing  us  as  if  we  were  dumb 
cattle. 

Latkin,  a  "Red"  army  soldier  returning  from  a  jour- 
ney through  several  counties  in  the  province  of  Moscow, 
gave  to  Izvestia  on  May  7,  1919,  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  the  frame  of  mind  of  the  peasants,  which  he  de- 
scribed as  very  gloomy: 

The  peasants  are  dissatisfied  with  the  war,  are  against  the 
"Red"  army  and  therefore  give  protection  to  deserters  and 
persuade  the  soldiers  not  to  obey  orders.  The  middle  pea- 
sants are  beginning  to  cooperate  with  the  village  capitalists 
in  their  resistance  to  the  Soviet  authorities. 

The  tyranny  of  the  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  has 
been  nationwide.  The  peasants  have  been  the  victims. 
In  the  Moscow  Izvestia  of  May,  1919,  was  published  the 
following  letter  from  the  province  of  Vitebsk. 


CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY         167 

Of  late  there  has  been  going  on  in  the  village  a  really 
scandalous  orgy.  It  is  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the 
destructive  war  of  the  scoundrels  who  work  themselves  into 
responsible  positions.  Evidently  all  the  good  and  unselfish 
beginnings  of  the  workingmen  and  peasant  authorities  were 
either  purposely  or  unintentionally  perverted  by  these  adven- 
tures in  order  to  undermine  the  confidence  of  the  peasants 
in  the  existing  government  in  order  to  provoke  dissatisfac- 
tion and  rebellion.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  no  open 
counter-revolutionary  or  enemy  of  the  proletariat  has  done 
as  much  harm  to  the  Socialist  Republic  as  charlatans  of  this 
sort.  Take,  as  an  instance,  the  third  district  of  Vitebsk  in 
the  county  of  Dekiashkov.  Here  the  taxes  imposed  upon 
the  peasants  were  as  follows :  P.  Sloukov  owning  seventeen 
desiatins^  was  compelled  to  pay  a  tax  of  5,000  rubles,  while 
U.  Zoprit,  owning  twenty-four  desiatins,  paid  only  500 
rubles.  S.  Grigoriev  paid  2,000  rubles  on  twenty-nine  desia- 
tins, while  Ivan  Tselov  paid  8,000  rubles  on  twenty-three 
desiatins. 

The  writer  after  quoting  other  instances  of  discrimi- 
nation adds  that  the  soil  was  alike  in  all  cases. 

Vopatin  of  the  province  of  Tambov  writes  to  the 
Isvestia  as  follows : 

Help !  We  are  perishing !  At  the  time  when  we  are 
starving,  do  you  know  what  is  going  on  in  the  villages? 
Take  for  instance  our  village  Olkhi.  Speculation  is  rife 
here,  especially  with  salt,  which  sells  at  ten  rubles  a  pound. 
What  does  the  militia  do?  What  do  the  Soviets  do?  When 
it  is  reported  to  them  they  wave  their  hands  and  say,  "This 
is  a  normal  phenomenon,"  Not  only  this,  but  the  militia- 
men, beginning  with  the  chief  and  including  some  commu- 
nists, are  all  engaged  in  brewing  their  own  alcohol,  which 
sells  for  seventy  rubles  a  bottle.     Nobody  who  is  in  close 

^  Two  and  seven-tenths  acres  equals  one  desiatin. 


i68  THE  NEW  WORLD 

touch  with  the  militia  is  afraid  to  engage  in  this  work. 
Hunger  is  ahead  of  us,  but  neither  the  citizens  nor  the 
"authorities"  recognize  it.  The  people's  judge  also  drinks, 
and  if  one  wishes  to  win  a  case  one  only  needs  to  treat  him 
to  a  drink.  We  live  in  a  terrible  filth.  There  is  no  soap. 
People  and  horses  are  suffering  from  skin  diseases.  Epi- 
demics are  inevitable  in  summer.  If  Moscow  will  pay  no 
attention  to  us,  then  we  will  perish.  We  had  an  election  for 
the  village  and  county  Soviet,  but  the  voting  occurred  in 
violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  Soviet  goernment.  As  a 
result  of  this  a  number  of  agents  of  capitalists  who  under 
the  guise  of  communists  entered  the  party  in  order  to  avoid 
the  requisitions  and  contributions,  were  elected.  The  labor- 
ing peasantry  is  thus  being  turned  against  the  government, 
and  this  at  a  time  when  the  hosts  of  Kolchak  are  advancing 
from  the  east. 

The  peasants  are  hiding  their  rubles,  holding  them  for 
a  day  when  they  hope  that  the  blight  of  communism  will 
pass  and  some  democratic  government  will  reorganize 
Russia,  bring  order  out  of  chaos,  establish  freedom.  Their 
Safety  Deposit  Boxes  are  empty  bottles  into  which  the 
peasants  stuff  their  paper  rubles  and  then  bury  the  bot- 
tles in  the  ground.  They  are  waiting  for  the  day  when 
a  stable  government  will  redeem  these  paper  promises 
which  to-day  are  of  little  value.  It  is  proof  of  their  lack 
of  trust  in  the  Soviet  government,  a  trust  forfeited 
when  the  government  repudiated  its  foreign  obligations 
and  confiscated  all  private  property  in  Russia. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  says : 

No  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty  or  property 
without  due  process  of  law;  nor  shall  private  property  be 
taken  for  public  use  without  just  compensation. 


CLASH  OF  FACT  AND  THEORY         169 

Every  citizen  in  America  enjoys  the  right  of  Private 
Property  when  he  owns  the  tools  with  which  he  works, 
and  banks  his  savings.  He  enjoys  the  right  of  private 
property  when  he  buys  a  home,  when  he  puts  his  earn- 
ings into  a  shop,  when  he  becomes  an  employer.  The 
right  of  private  property  enables  the  working  man  to 
become  an  employer.  In  this  way  American  Industry  has. 
been  built  up. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  FAILURE  OF  THE  SOCIALIZATION  OF  INDUSTRY 

The  Bolshevist  government  seized  industry ;  the  work- 
ing men  took  over  the  factories.  It  v^as  part  of  the 
plan  of  communism.  The  promise  was  that  the  socializa- 
tion of  industry  would  increase  production  and  free  the 
workers  from  exploitation.  The  owners  and  managers 
were  driven  from  the  plants.  These  men  were  of  the 
bourgeois  class.  They  had  no  place  in  the  new  scheme  of 
things.  They  were  "tainted"  with  success.  They  had 
intelligently  and  efficiently  built  up  their  industries.  That 
was  enough.  The  Bolshevist  denied  them  citizenship  and 
drove  them  from  the  enterprises  they  had  built. 

Everything  was  to  be  owned  in  common ;  private  prop- 
erty of  all  kinds  had  been  abolished.  The  men  who 
worked  in  the  factories  or  mills  were  to  be  their  own 
bosses.  They  were  part  of  the  state,  and  the  state  owned 
and  operated  everything.  The  government  of  the  fac- 
tory was  to  be  by  committee,  every  man  was  the  equal  of 
every  other  man ;  orders  were  given  and  orders  taken 
with  this  thought  in  mind.  The  result  was  insubordina- 
tion. Every  man  was  boss;  all  system  vanished;  sys- 
tem made  slaves — Down  with  system!  The  business 
brains  having  been  driven  out,  insubordination  having 

170 


•       FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     171 

come  in,  production  declined  until  it  almost  ceased. 
Many  workers  gave  up  in  disgust  and  returned  to  their 
villages.  The  exodus  from  Petrograd  was  marked.  Prior 
to  1 91 5  Petrograd  was  a  city  of  nearly  2,000,000.  In 
19 18  its  population  had  shrunk  to  less  than  800,000. 
Factories  closed.  Again  the  theory  of  communism, 
when  put  to  the  test,  failed. 

The  ofificial  organ  of  the  trade  imion  of  Petrograd,  the 
Trud  of  April  28,  1919,  in  discussing  the  closing  down 
of  nineteen  textile  mills  gives  the  following  reasons  for 
the  economic  crisis : 

"Of  great  significance  in  our  textile  crisis  is  also  the 
inefficient  using  of  what  could  be  used,  as  the  productivity 
of  labor  has  dropped  to  nil,  while  there  is  not  even  a  hint 
of  labor  discipline  and  the  machines  have  become  useless 
as  a  result  of  careless  handling,  and  their  productive  capa- 
city lowered." 

A  similar  situation  developed  in  Moscow  according  to 
the  official  Bolshevist  newspaper,  Izvestia,  of  April  3, 
1919: 

At  a  conference  of  the  main  administrative  board  of  tex- 
tile enterprises,  the  question  of  closing  down  textile  factories 
was  discussed.  As  the  result  of  the  debate  it  was  resolved 
to  consider  inexpedient  the  closing  down  of  factories,  to 
recommend  as  necessary  only  the  partial  closing  down  in 
dependence  upon  local  conditions  and  the  situation  of  the 
various  enterprises  of  the  textile  industry. 

It  was  also  resolved  to  take  measures  to  preserve  the  basic 
groups  of  workmen  in  these  enterprises  and  to  establish 
them  in  necessary  work  during  the  period  of  the  closing 
down  of  factories.    It  was  also  resolved  to  use  the  period  of 


172  THE  NEW  WORLD 

closure  to  make  repairs  and  lay  in  supplies  of  raw  material 
and  fuel,  and  also  to  use  these  workmen  for  agricultural 
work.  The  question  of  closing  down  all  textile  industries 
will  be  decided  finally  at  a  joint  conference  of  representa- 
tives of  the  main  administrative  board  and  of  the  trade 
union  of  textile  workers. 

A  striking  result  of  the  disorganization  of  the  textile 
industry  as  printed  in  Izvestia  of  February  6,  1919, 
follows : 

The  official  estimate  of  cloth  needed  for  Moscow  for  1919, 
its  population  being  given  as  600,000  adult  males,  700,000 
adult  females,  and  300,000  children,  is  as  follows: 

Arsheens^ 

Heavy  cloth 2,366,670 

Light  cloth 12,116,670 

Cotton  cloth 52,066,670 

*  One  arsheen  equals  28  inches. 

During  September,  October,  and  November  altogether 
5,000,000  arsheens  of  cloth  have  been  issued  to  the  popula- 
tion, which  is  considered  one  third  of  the  actual  needs. 

Other  branches  of  industry  w^ere  collapsing  in  the  late 
autumn  of  1918  at  the  very  moment  when  it  was  claimed 
that  the  "constructive  period"  had  arrived  in  Soviet 
Russia. 

The  quantity  of  benzine  is  so  small  that  Providink,  one 
of  the  largest  manufacturing  enterprises  of  Russia,  has  only 
enough  to  last  for  two  months;  the  factories  of  Bogatyr  are 
still  more  inadequately  supplied  with  rubber.  The  stocks  of 
rubber  are  barely  sufficient  for  another  two  months  of  pro- 
duction. The  number  of  workmen  employed  has  fallen  from 
32,000  to  7,500.' 

'  From  the  official  Bolshevist  newspaper,  National  Economy 
and  Finance,  November  12,  1918. 


FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     173 

Transportation  has  almost  completely  broken  down  in 
Russia.  Fifty  per  cent  of  tlie  Russian  steam  and  sailing 
mercantile  marine  was  not  in  a  condition  to  resume  navi- 
gation at  the  beginning  of  1919,  on  account  of  the  lack  of 
workers,  fuel  and  the  decrease  in  labor  productivity.  Al- 
together 1407  steamers  were  registered  and  2446  other 
boats. 

The  railways  are  going  to  pieces  in  the  literal  sense  of 
the  phrase;  locomotives  have  been  scrapped  at  a  disas- 
trous rate  and  few  are  being  produced. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  connection  with  the  strike  at  the 
Putilov  factory,  Zinoviev  said  that  from  August,  1918,  to 
February,  1919,  the  factory  had  turned  out  only  five  locomo- 
tives. For  the  year  1918  the  factory  had  cost  the  state  a 
deficit  of  58,000,000  rubles.^ 

The  report  of  the  commissariat  of  railroads  shows 
that  there  were  only  250  locomotives  in  commission  in 
Soviet  Russia  in  August,  1919.  Of  these  twenty-one 
were  operating  on  the  Nicholas  railroad. 

Out  of  thirty-three  cement  factories  existing  in  Rus- 
sia only  fourteen  are  in  a  position  to  be  used,  but  on 
account  of  the  shortage  of  fuel  none  of  these  factories 
are  working  at  present.  The  reserves  of  cement  amount 
to  1,080,000  tons,  whereas  formerly  the  annual  produc- 
tion amounted  to  18,000,000  tons.  If  fifty  per  cent  of 
the  present  actual  annual  production  of  coal  were  used 
for  the  production  of  cement,  only  three  factories  could 
work,  thus  producing  the  annual  output  of  1,600,000 
tons.    These  facts  are  upon  the  authority  of  the  official 

'  Severnaya  Communa,  March  15,  1919. 


174  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Bolshevist  newspaper,  E\conomy  and  Finance,   of  No- 
vember 12,  1919. 

The  economic  organization  of  Russia  has  completely 
broken  down  under  the  baneful  influence  of  commu- 
nism. Were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  the  Bolshevist  gov- 
ernment inherited  large  stores  of  everything  from  the 
reign  of  Czar  Nicholas  conditions  would  be  even  worse 
than  they  are.  The  fact  of  importance  is  that  commu- 
nism decreased  production,  for  this  is  the  test  of  the 
practicability  of  the  scheme.  I  quote  two  Bolshevist 
authorities : 

There  is  an  unprecedented  decline  of  productivity  in  mills 
and  factories.  We  must  combat  this  resolutely.  {Severnaya 
Commnna.) 

Organized  labor  has  never  been  accused  of  being  cap- 
italistic. From  the  accredited  representatives  of  union 
labor  of  Russia  comes  a  highly  illuminating  appeal : 

To  W.  A.  Appleton,  President,  December  12,  1919. 

International  Federation  of  Trade  Unions. 
Statement    by    the    Workers'    Delegation — Ijevski    and 
Vodkinska  Factories. 
This  delegation,  which  arrived  at  London  on  December  6, 
1919,  has  by  general  consent  of  the  workers  of  Ijevski  and 
Vodkinska  Factories,  and  by  the  resolution  passed  at  the  sit- 
ting of  the  Ural's  Trade  Union  on  June  15th,  the  following 
mission  to  perform: 

To  inform  the  citizens  of  England  concerning  the  present 
condition  of  Russia  and  the  Russian  working  class. 

We  come  forward  as  non-party  representatives  of  working 
men,  and  we  do  not  wish  to  involve  ourselves  in  English 
party  politics.    We  turn  to  you  in  the  first  place  as  the  repre- 


FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     175 

sentatives  of  a  non-party  labor  organization,  and  ask  you  to 
give  us  your  co-operation  in  the  fulfillment  of  our  mission. 
We  have  up  to  now  given  no  interview^  to  the  English 
press.  We  wish  to  declare  hereby  that  we  are  ready  to  an- 
swer all  direct  questions,  both  in  meetings  and  the  press,  and 
if  necessary,  to  answer  them  before  the  Bureau  of  the  Inter- 
national Federation  of  Trade  Unions  at  Amsterdam. 

In  submitting  this  statement  we  appeal  in  the  name  of 
justice  to  international  democracy. 
(Signed) 

Ypovalov,  President 

Vodkinska  Union  Metal  Workers. 
Strumelov,  Member  of 

Directorate  of  Metal  Workers'  Union,. 
Perm. 
Jandermov,  Vice-President 

Federated  Trade  Unions  of  Urals. 
Menshekov,  Member  of 

Executive  Committee  Ijevski  Union  of 
Organization. 

The  following  supplementary  statement  is  made  by 
the  delegate  from  the  Vodkinska  workers : 

The  causes  of  the  rising  against  the  Soviet  rule  by  Ijevski 
and  Vodkinska  peasants  and  workmen  it  is  my  wish  to  ex- 
plain: 

People  reading  and  hearing  the  thunderous  logic  and  bla- 
tant rhetoric  of  Lenin,  Trotzky  and  their  associates,  but 
unfamiliar  with  the  actual  state  of  affairs  in  Russia,  are  not 
in  a  position  to  understand  it.  They  may  think  that  the 
party  which  is  fighting  against  Soviet  rules,  as  established  by 
Lenin  and  Trotzky,  consists  of  the  bourgeoisie  and  the  old 
reactionary  group.  To  emerge  from  this  illusion  it  is  neces- 
sary to  master  the  history  of  the  situation.  It  is  necessary 
to  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  real  Russia. 


176  THE  NEW  WORLD 

We  recognize  that  Russia  economically  lags  behind  other 
nations;  that  Russian  manufacturers  are  in  their  early  stages 
of  development,  and  from  economic  laws  it  is  certain  that 
where  there  are  not  manufactures  there  can  be  no  working 
classes,  consequently  there  can  be  no  bourgeoisie. 

In  Russia,  out  of  180,000,000  inhabitants,  150,000,000  are 
peasants  and  about  20,000,000  are  workers.  Then  we  hear 
the  Bolsheviki  talk  about  "power  for  the  peasants  and  work- 
ers."  But  is  that  what  they  have  brought  about  ?  No.  The 
voice  of  real  Russia  proclaims  to  all  the  world  the  following 
story : 

The  Bolsheviki  established  their  power  by  bayonets  and 
broke  the  strength  of  peasants  and  workers,  broke  the  elected 
assembly,  which  was  on  the  principle  of  universal,  direct- 
equal  and  secret  voting — broke  all  the  societies  of  a  demo- 
cratic nature,  such  as  the  Zemstvos,  that  self-governing 
body  elected  by  universal,  direct  and  secret  voting.  The  Bol- 
sheviki, ruthlessly,  like  autocratic  gendarmes,  killed  all  labor, 
political  and  socialistic  organizations,  throttled  the  labor 
press,  as  for  instance,  its  organ  of  the  Social  Democrats  and 
Social  Republicans,  and  finally  the  Bolsheviki  established  by- 
degree  the  dawn  of  their  own  Czarist  socialism. 

Who  split  up  the  reserve  funds  of  the  trade  unions?  The 
Bolsheviki.  Who  split  up  the  trade  unions  as  a  class?  By 
whose  orders  were,  all  strikes  put  down  by  force  of  arms 
and  amid  plentiful  executions?  It  was  the  Bolsheviki  who 
broke  the  workmen's  co-operative  societies  and  converted 
their  shops  into  communal  stores.  The  Bolsheviki  promised 
the  Russian  people  bread,  peace,  and  freedom. 

Actually,  in  place  of  peace  they  gave  civil  war,  which 
destroyed  all  manufacture  and  stained  every  side  with  blood; 
in  place  of  freedom,  prison,  exile,  and  the  shooting  party; 
in  place  of  bread,  famine,  and  the  grave.  So  it  was,  that 
having  drunk  to  the  full  the  cup  of  humiliation  and  tasted 
this  red-bayonet  socialism,  Ijevski  and  Vodkinska  recognized 


FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     177 

that  further  Ufe  of  this  sort  was  impossible,  and  though  with- 
out arms,  and  armed  only  with  the  armor  of  right,  with'  only 
their  blistered  hands  to  fight  with,  united  in  spirit,  to  a  man 
they  rose  against  the  oppressors,  and  by  virtue  of  their 
strength  of  will,  snatched  the  rifles  from  the  hands  of  the 
"Red"  Guard  and  began  the  battle  for  citizens'  rights  and 
the  freedom  of  the  Russian  people. 

The  reader  asks  why  Bolshevism  holds  out  so  long  if  the 
peasants  and  workers  are  fighting  against  it.  This  is  the 
true  answer:  All  the  world  knows  that  the  Bolsheviki  con- 
cluded peace  with  Wilhelm,  disarmed  the  Russian  army,  and 
with  the  Germans,  began  to  shoot  down  the  workers  and 
peasants.  All  the  time  their  chief  power  has  rested  in  Mag- 
yars, Chinese,  Letts,  Czar's  gendarmes,  capital  criminals, 
and  communists. 

All  these  dark  forces,  armed  to  the  teeth,  are  driving 
under  threat  of  death,  father  against  son,  brother  against 
brother,  and  the  Rus-sian  people,  who  bore  the  first  brunt  of 
the  mailed  fist  of  Teutonic  junkerdom  and  in  the  first  place 
saved  France  and  all  Europe  from  destruction's  bite,  now 
bleeds  in  the  struggle  against  it,  and  looks  to  allied  demo- 
cracy all  over  the  world,  in  its  turn,  to  save  Russia. 

(Signed)         Ypovalov. 

A  supplementary  statement  by  the  member  for  Ijevski 
factory  follows : 

We,  Ijevski  and  Vodkinska  workers,  who  raised  the  stand- 
ard and  took  arms  against  Bolshevism  are  anxious  to  give 
our  story  to  English  workers  and  to  English  newspapers. 
We  wish  to  explain  the  reason  which  led  to  our  revolt,  for 
we  cannot  at  present  understand  why  part  of  the  English 
Press  regards  the  Bolsheviki  as  the  friends  of  trade  union- 
ism. We  Russian  workers  have  found  that  the  Bolsheviki 
turned  out  enemies  to  trade  unionism  as  big  as  the  capital- 


178  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ists  of  the  Czar's  time.  We  are  ready  to  give  you  details  of 
the  horrors  which  we  workers  have  Uved  through  under  the 
regime  of  their  despotic  sway.  We  will  give  you  the  story 
of  the  decline  of  Russian  productivity,  and  with  it  the  eclipse 
of  the  industrial  classes. 

We  took  up  arms  against  our  oppressors  in  the  name  of 
the  duty  which  we  owe  to  Labor's  flag,  for  which  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  its  loyal  defenders  have  died  in  our  part 
of  the  world. 

(Signed)         Menshekov. 


Trotzky,  in  confessing  the  failure  of  the  Bolshevist 
program  successfully  to  socialize  industry,  charged  it  to 
the  "sabotage  of  the  intellectuals."  By  this  he  meant 
that  the  Bolsheviki  drove  the  specialists,  the  technicians 
and  managers  of  industry,  out  of  business ;  that  the 
vv^orkingmen,  not  having  the  training  for  places  requir- 
ing special  skill  and  knowledge,  were  unable  efficiently 
and  successfully  to  carry  on  the  business.  Having 
pointed  out  the  cause  of  the  failure,  he  presented  a 
remedy.  He  said  with  truth  that  the  intellectuals  have 
the  benefit  of  special  training,  education,  and  experience, 
and  that  shops  and  factories  filled  with  machines,  mate- 
rial, and  w^orkingmen,  cannot  be  run  without  the  skilled 
manager,  the  intelligent,  experienced  foreman.  But 
Trotzky  has  not  lost  faith  in  the  plan  of  industrial  com- 
munism, nor  has  he  lost  belief  in  the  theory  that  it  can 
be  made  tcf  increase  production.  He  says  that  the  bour- 
geoisie, when  forced  by  the  state  into  the  factories,  do  not 
-work  with  the  same  ambition  to  make  success  as  they 
did  when  they  had  a  personal-profit  interest.     This  he 


FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     179 

calls  the  "sabotage  of  the  intellectuals."  To  eliminate 
this  difficulty  he  proposes  that  the  Bolshevist  government 
turn  its  attention  to  the  education  of  the  working  men, 
provide  technical  schools  and  schools  teaching  business 
management,  and  in  this  manner  create  competent  man- 
agers and  technical  experts.  It  is  Trotzky's  opinion  that 
workingmen  educated  to  be  experts  and  managers  would 
retain  their  class  sympathy  and  their  interest  in  the  suc- 
cess of  the  class  struggle. 

The  Bolsheviki  are  strong  on  theory.  Trotzky  fails 
to  take  into  consideration  some  simple  fundamental 
truths.  He  fails  to  reckon  with  human  nature  as  it  is. 
He  thinks  of  it  as  it  should  be.  Let  us  take  an  example 
which  illustrates  and  emphasizes  the  difference  between 
Bolshevist  theory  and  practical  experience.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  the  Bolshevist  government  establish  schools 
for  the  purpose  of  training  men  in  business  management 
and  for  technical  work.  Then  enroll  in  these  schools 
workingmen  who,  at  the  time  of  their  entrance  in  the 
school,  are  entirely  "class  conscious"  and  ardent  commu- 
nists. They  attend  school  for  several  years.  The  time 
spent  there  and  the  education  given  to  the  men  make  a 
change  in  them.  They  become  conscious  of  the  power 
of  education,  of  their  fitness  for  a  better  class  of  work. 
Education  gives  them  a  sense  of  superiority,  and  I  do 
not  mean  superiority  in  the  arrogant  or  boastful  sense. 
The  trained  mind  is  conscious  of  training.  It  is  a  more 
ambitious  mind.  The  men  are  not  less  human.  They 
want  from  education  its  material  benefits.  They  feel  the 
sense  of  leadership.     When  they  graduate,  these  men 


i8o  THE  NEW  WORLD 

leave  the  door  of  the  school  different  men  in  aspirations 
and  ambitions.  Take  them  back  to  the  factories  and  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  will  be  found  that  education  has 
made  managers,  foremen,  experts  out  of  them,  and  that 
they  are  class  conscious  but  of  a  different  class,  not  the 
one  they  came  from  when  they  entered  school  but  the 
class  they  graduated  into  through  education.  There  will 
be  some  few  whose  great  idealism  will  inspire  them  to 
go  back  into  the  shop  and  work  for  the  common  good. 
Such  men  are  the  exceptions  to  the  rule.  The  majority 
will  insist  upon  recognition  of  their  greater  skill  and 
demand  compensation  for  it.  Their  thought  is  "Now 
that  I  am  skilled  and  educated,  now  that  I  take  on  my 
shoulders  a  large  and  more  important  responsibility,  I 
am  entitled  to  increased  consideration  and  a  larger  re- 
ward. Why  should  I  be  put  on  the  level  with  the  men 
who  haven't  the  capacity  I  have  and  who  do  not  shoulder 
the  same  responsibility  I  do?" 

Trotzky's  plan  reminds  me  of  the  intensely  maternal 
hen,  who  after  practicing  on  white  door  knobs,  discov- 
ered some  eggs  in  a  bam,  and  with  great  enthusiasm 
began  to  set.  In  the  course  of  time  her  patience  and 
motherhood  were  rewarded.  As  soon  as  her  brood  was 
able  to  walk  she  took  them  on  an  excursion  to  the  river 
bank  to  give  them  a  worm  banquet.  When  she  reached 
the  water  edge  she  was  startled  at  seeing  her  young  ones 
paddle  into  the  water  and  without  even  so  much  as  a 
good-by,  swim  off. 

The  test  of  the  communist  theory  is  whether  or  not, 
when  put   into  practice,   it   increases  production.     The 


FAILURE  TO  SOCIALIZE  INDUSTRY     i8i 

theory  of  the  communist  is  that  it  will  increase  produc- 
tion by  inducing  men  to  work  because  they  are  their  own 
bosses  and  are  guaranteed  an  equal  share  in  the  produc- 
tion. The  practical  fact  which  upsets  the  theory  is  that 
human  beings  are  moved  to  work  by  their  desire  for 
gain.  Human  beings  have  this  strain  in  their  blood.  It 
is  organic ;  it  is  a  part  of  them.  I  do  not  refer  to  greed. 
I  mean  that  all  experience  proves  that  human  beings  are 
individualists.  The  average  man  thinks  of  himself  and 
his  interests  a  dozen  times  to  the  one  time  he  thinks  of 
the  general  interest  of  society.  This  is  true  even  of  the 
man  who  devotes  thought  and  has  much  concern  for  the 
common  good.  He  may  be  generous  to  a  fault,  but  he 
wants  to  acquire  and  then  give  it.  Competition,  not- 
withstanding all  the  theories  of  the  idealists  to  the  con- 
trary, quickens  life,  stimulates  men  to  work,  makes  for 
progress.  Everywhere  about  us  we  see  in  our  daily  ex- 
periences evidence  of  this  fact.  Life  is  a  gamble  in  the 
sense  that  everything  is  uncertain ;  life  itself  is  uncer- 
tain. No  man  can  plan  or  program  his  to-morrow.  It 
is  the  effort  of  man  to  provide  against  unfavorable  con- 
tingencies, to  compete  with  chance,  which  makes  him 
basically  a  competitor  with  every  other  man. 

Take  the  poker  game.  Men  who  play  the  "national" 
game  will  tell  you  that  they  play  for  the  fun  of  the 
game,  not  for  the  money,  and  they  are  speaking  the 
truth.  Make  an  experiment,  play  a  game  for  matches 
instead  of  for  money,  and  observe  the  effect  upon  the 
ambition  and  skill  of  the  players.  Maybe  it  should  not 
be  so,  but  we  are  not  dealing  with  "should  not  he's." 

J 


i82  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  life  problem  must  be  handled  from  the  point  of 
view  of  things  as  they  are. 

While  the  theory  of  communism  is  beautifully  ideal, 
human  beings  are  not.  The  ugly  fact  is  that  selfishness 
is  at  the  bottom  of  nearly  all  personal  endeavor.  It 
stimulates  men  to  work.     It  is  the  will  to  work. 

Two  years'  experience  with  communism  in  Russia 
proves  that  the  experiment  is  a  failure.  It  disorganized 
life,  demoralized  people  and  diminished  production.  In- 
stead of  curing  poverty,  it  made  poverty  universal.  In- 
stead of  removing  the  cancer  spot — Poverty — from  the 
body  of  civilization,  communism  is  causing  decreased 
production,  is  making  the  entire  social  body  a  cancer. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  ABUSE  OF  POWER 

Soviet  government  has  been  a  costly  experiment. 
Russia  is  almost  succumbing  to  the  treatment;  notwith- 
standing the  success  of  the  "Red"  army  in  the  field,  con- 
ditions in  Russia  are  growing  from  bad  to  worse.  The 
Soviet  leaders  are  drunk  with  power  and  have  conducted 
themselves  in  the  manner  of  drunken  men.  Reckless 
waste,  intolerant  officiousness,  greed  for  spoils,  are  the 
record  they  have  made.  The  Soviet  government  is  a 
political  machine,  and  communism  has  not  changed  its 
character  or  its  methods.  It  has  simply  given  it  larger 
opportunities  for  spoils.  Greater  security  in  its  corrup- 
tion. 

The  Socialde'mocratin  prints  some  interesting  extracts 
from  the  Bolshevist  budget  for  1919. 

According  to  this  newspaper,  the  revenue  for  the  first 
half  of  1919  amounted  to  20,350,000,000  rubles,  and  the 
expenditures  to  50,703,000,000  rubles,  making  the  deficit 
for  the  first  six  months  of  1919  of  Soviet  Russia  the 
enormous  sum  of  over  30,000,000,000  rubles.  The  ac- 
quisition of  foodstuffs  and  necessaries  of  life  has  created 
a  deficit  of  5,000,000,000  rubles,  and  the  railways  4,500,- 
000,000  rubles;  thus  a  half  year  of  Bolshevist  rule  cost 
more  than  Russia's  total  outlay  on  the  whole  war. 

183 


i84  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  report  of  the  Bolshevik  Nemensky  on  the  audit 
of  the  central  Soviet  commission  in  charge  of  all  textile 
factories,  which  appeared  in  the  Sozietskaya  Ekonomich- 
eskaya  Zhisn  of  February  25,  1919,  follows: 

The  finance  credit  division  of  the  central  Soviet  commis- 
sion received  up  to  February  i,  1919,  3,400,000,000  rubles. 
There  was  no  control  of  the  expenditure  of  moneys.  Money 
was  advanced  to  factories  immediately  upon  demand  and 
there  were  cases  when  money  was  forwarded  to  factories 
which  did  not  exist.  From  July  I,  to  December  31,  1918, 
the  central  Soviet  commission  advanced  on  account  of  prod- 
ucts, to  be  received,  1,348,619,000  rubles.  The  value  of  the 
goods  securing  these  advances  received  up  to  January  I, 
1919,  was  only  143,716,000  rubles.  The  negligent  way  of 
doing  business  may  be  particularly  observed  from  the  way 
the  central  Soviet  commission  purchased  supplies  of  raw 
wool.  Up  to  January  i,  1919,  only  129,803  poods  of  wool 
was  acquired,  whereas  the  annual  requirement  is  figured  at 
3,500,000  poods. 

The  tremendous  staff  of  officials  (about  6,000  persons) 
employed  by  the  commission  are  in  the  majority  of  cases 
doing  nothing  useful.  It  appears  that  there  were  on  the 
payroll  of  this  institution  125  persons  who  actually  were  not 
in  the  service  at  all,  but  who  were  receiving  salaries.  There 
were  cases  where  the  same  persons  received  salaries  twice  for 
the  same  period.  The  efficiency  of  the  officials  is  negligible 
to  a  striking  degree. 

Such  Soviet  institutions,  Nemensky  says  at  the  end 
of  his  report,  are  a  beautiful  example  of  deadening  bu- 
reaucracy and  must  be  liquidated. 

It  would  seem  that  the  idealists  in  charge  of  the  com- 
munist program  in  Russia  are  experts  in  "graft-ring" 


THE  ABUSE  OF  POWER  185 

methods.  Payroll  padding  is  among  their  accomplish- 
ments. An  innocent  bystander  might  suspect  some  of 
these  Soviet  officials  of  having  a  leaning  toward  private 
property,  particularly  when  it  is  in  easy  reach. 

Probably  it  is  fair  to  the  Bolsheviki  to  state  their  situa- 
tion in  their  own  words.  The  bulletin  of  the  central 
executive  committee  of  the  Soviets,  No.  15  (1919), 
announces : 

We  have  created  extraordinary  commissaries  and  extraor- 
dinary commissions  without  number.  All  of  these  are,  to  a 
lesser  or  greater  degree,  only  mischief-makers. 

The  toiling  population  see  in  the  squandering  of  money 
right  and  left  by  the  commissaries  and  in  their  indecent 
loudness  and  profanity  during  their  trips  through  the  dis- 
tricts, the  complete  absence  of  party  discipline. 

People's  Commissar  Lunacharsky,  according  to  the 
Severnayna  Kommuna  of  March  23,  1919,  declared: 

The  upper  stratum  of  the  Soviet  rule  is  becoming  detached 
from  the  masses,  and  the  blunders  of  the  communist  work- 
ers are  becoming  more  and  more  frequent.  These  latter, 
according  to  statements  by  workmen,  treat  the  masses  in  a 
high-handed  manner  and  are  very  generous  with  threats 
and  repressions. 

The  Soviet  machine  has  had  its  "run  in"  with  the 
workers.  The  factory  committees  have  been  bulldozed. 
The  Soviets  have  been  brutal  in  their  treatment  of  the 
proletariat. 

"The  struggle  between  the  Soviets  and  the  committee 
of  factory  workers  is  an  ordinary  occurrence,"  according 


i86  THE  NEW  WORLD 

to  the  Bolshevist  newspaper  Ekonomicheskaya  Zhizn  of 
April,  191 9. 

The  Soviets  have  the  whip  hand  in  their  controversy 
with  the  workers;  they  are  the  government  and  the 
"Red"  army  backs  their  decrees.  There  is  a  final  court 
of  settlement  for  all  disagreements  between  the  Soviets 
and  the  workers.  It  is  the  "wall" — and  the  firing  squad. 
The  right  to  strike  is  denied  the  workers.  Many  of  those 
who  dared  strike  have  paid  with  their  lives.  The 
workers  are  without  recourse  when  commanded  by  the 
Soviet.  Whether  or  not  they  were  the  slaves  of  the 
machines  before  communism  came,  it  is  certain  they  are 
now  the  slaves  of  the  Soviets.  Even  as  slaves  of  the 
machines  and  the  capitalists  who  owned  the  machines, 
they  had  the  right  to  strike  for  their  rights.  The  Soviets 
deprived  them  of  this  right. 

The  Bolshevik  Sosnovsky,  reporting  on  the  condition 
in  the  Tver  province,  in  the  Isvestia  of  the  provincial 
Soviet  March  9,  1919,  wrote:  "The  local  communist 
Soviet  workers  behaved  themselves,  with  rare  exceptions, 
in  a  disgusting  manner.  Misuse  of  power  is  going  on 
constantly." 

The  conduct  of  the  Soviet  commissaries  is  a  general 
scandal  in  Russia  and  is  described  in  No.  12,  Januaiy 
18,  1919,  of  the  Isvestia  of  the  provincial  Soviets: 

The  commissaries  were  going  through  the  Czaritzin 
county  in  sumptuous  carriages,  driven  by  three  and  often 
by  six  horses.  A  great  array  of  adjutants  and  a  large  suite 
accompanied  these  commissaries,  and  an  imposing  number 
of  trunks  followed  along.     They  made  exorbitant  demands 


THE  ABUSE  OF  POWER  187 

upon  the  toiling  population,  coupled  with  assaults  and  bru- 
tality; their  way  of  squandering  money  right  and  left  is 
particularly  characteristic.  In  some  houses  the  commissa- 
ries gambled  away  and  spent  on  intoxicants  large  sums.  The 
hard-working  population  looked  upon  these  orgies  as  com- 
plete demoralization  and  failure  of  duty  to  the  world  revo- 
lution. 

These  pen  pictures  of  life  in  Russia  under  the  Soviet 
regime  are  not  furnished  by  the  enemies  of  Bolshevism; 
they  are  the  complaints  of  Bolshevist  leaders.  Do  we 
need  a  greater  warning  of  the  menace  of  Bolshevism? 

A  BOLSHEVIST'S  DYING  CONFESSION 

Nicholas  Lopoushkin  gave  his  life  to  the  cause  of 
Russian  freedom.  For  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century,  he 
stood  up  under  the  tortures  of  Siberia;  solitary  confine- 
ment and  the  drudgery  of  the  salt  mines  did  not  break 
the  spirit  of  revolution  in  him.  He  was  an  active  leader 
in  the  Bolshevist  revolution.  At  its  conclusion  he  was 
made  president  of  the  Soviet  in  his  native  city  of  Kirsa- 
nov, in  the  province  of  Tambov.  Eighteen  months  of 
Bolshevist  terror  did  what  twenty-four  years  of  penal 
exile  failed  to  do.  It  shattered  his  dream,  broke  his 
faith,  and  maddened  him  with  its  horrors.  He  tried  to 
stem  the  tide  of  blood  and  suffering  which  Bolshevist 
methods  turned  loose  on  his  country.  He  dared  to  call 
a  halt  on  the  program  of  violence.  His  colleagues 
charged  him  with  being  lukewarm  to  the  cause,  with  lack- 
ing revolutionary  energy.  Knowing  that  these  complaints 
had  been  sent  to  Moscow,  he  addressed,  on  April  24, 


i88  THE  NEW  WORLD 

1919,  the  following  letter  to  the  national  Soviet  of  peo- 
ple's commissars: 

Comrades :  My  colleagues  of  the  Kirsanov  Soviet  are 
writing  to  tell  you  that  I  am  no  longer  fit  to  hold  the  posi- 
tion of  president  of  the  Soviet,  that  I  am  a  counter-revolu- 
tionary, that  I  have  lost  my  nerve,  and  am  a  traitor  to  our 
cause.  Perhaps  they  are  right — I  only  wish  I  knew.  In 
writing  this  letter  I  have  no  wish  to  justify  my  behavior  or 
exonerate  myself  in  your  eyes.  I  am  too  old  a  servant  of  the 
Revolution  to  plead  at  the  bar  before  men  who  were  not 
born  when  I  was  serving  my  first  sentence  in  a  Czarist 
prison,  I  think  also  that  my  past  speaks  for  itself  and  that 
no  one  of  my  comrades  will  have  the  audacity  to  accuse  me 
of  insincerity  or  want  of  stability,  or  of  making  a  hasty 
decision.  After  twenty-four  years  spent  in  exile,  in  close 
confinement,  in  every  kind  of  revolutionary  work  and  in 
different  form  of  expiation  for  the  same,  I  escaped  abroad, 
and  became  an  ardent  Bolshevik  and  a  sincere  "believer  in 
the  doctrines  of  Lenin  and  his  party.  But  of  my  late  expe- 
riences in  Petrograd  and  Moscow,  whence  I  have  just  re- 
turned, coupled  with  the  horrors  of  the  ghastly  nightmare 
of  the  sort  of  existence  which  I  found  on  my  arrival  in  my 
native  town,  have  combined  to  shake  my  faith  in  the  suit- 
ability of  Bolshevism  for  our  country,  and  as  a  consequence, 
in  the  logic  and  stability  of  Bolshevist  theories  and  tenets 
in  general,  which  we  have  signally  and  dismally  failed  to 
prove.  Speaking  frankly,  we  are,  in  my  opinion,  on  the 
brink  of  a  terrible  disaster,  which  will  leave  its  imprint  not 
only  upon  socialism  but  upon  our  nation  for  centuries,  a 
disaster  which  will  give  our  decendants  the  right  to  regard 
us  Bolshevik!  at  the  best  as  crazy  fanatics,  and  at  the  worst 
as  foul  imposters  and  ghastly  muddlers,  who  murdered  and 
tortured  a  nation  for  the  sake  of  an  unattainable  Utopian 
theory,  and  who,  in  our  madness,  sold  our  birthright  amongst 
the  people  for  less  than  the  proverbial  mess  of  pottage. 


THE  ABUSE  OF  POWER  189 

All  around  me,  wherever  I  look,  I  see  unmistakable  signs 
of  our  approaching  doom  and  yet  no  one  responds  to  my  ap- 
peals for  help;  my  voice  is  as  the  voice  of  one  crying  in 
the  w^ilderness.  In  the  towns  I  have  just  come  from,  chronic 
hunger,  murder,  and  the  license  and  libertinage  of  the  cri- 
minal elements,  who  undoubtedly  hold  numerous  executive 
positions  under  our  Soviets,  have  reduced  the  population  to 
the  level  of  mere  brute  beasts  who  drag  out  a  dull  semi-con- 
scious existence  devoid  of  joy  to-day  and  without  hope  for 
the  morrow.  Surely  this  should  not  be  tTie  result  of  the 
earthly  paradise  which  the  Soviets  were  to  introduce  into 
our  lives. 

Everywhere  people  are  living  under  the  dread  of  famine, 
death,  torture,  and  terror,  everywhere  groaning  in  utter 
misery.  My  countrymen,  whom  I  love,  and  whom  I  have 
hoped  to  assist,  to  render  happy  above  all  nations,  look  at 
me  either  with  the  mute  uncomprehending  eyes  of  brutes, 
condemned  to  slaughter  or  else  with  the  red  eyes  of  fury  and 
vengeance.  It  is  these  latter  whom  I  fear;  they  are  so  cer- 
tain that  we  Bolsheviki  are  in  the  wrong,  that  as  soon  as 
they  can  do  so  without  fear  of  punishment,  they  will  kill  me, 
in  the  firm  conviction  that  they  are  thereby  doing  their  coun- 
try a  service.  It  is  terrible,  and  there  must  be  something 
wrong  somewhere.  While  our  brethren  in  the  big  cities 
are  starving,  the  whole  population  in  our  district  is  engaged 
in  distilling  pure  alcohol  from  surplus  grain  in  their  pos- 
session, grain  which  we  cannot  find,  and  which  no  amount  of 
threat  or  punishment  will  ever  make  them  give  up. 

Speculation  is  rife  amongst  even  the  most  humble  inhabit- 
ants in  the  country  villages,  who  have  forced  a  lump  of 
sugar  up  to  four  rubles  and  a  pound  of  salt  up  to  forty 
rubles.  And  the  Bolshevist  militia  and  Soviets,  when  called 
upon  to  deal  with  various  infringement  of  the  Bolshevist 
decrees,  either  try  to  get  out  of  taking  action  altogether  or 
else  pretend  that  there  is  insufficient  evidence  to  commit  for 


190  THE  NEW  WORLD 

trial.  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  men,  too,  are  tired  of  the 
position  of  outcasts  and  lepers  amongst  their  fellows,  which 
service  with  the  Bolsheviki  imposes  on  them  and  would 
gladly  give  up  their  official  status,  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  they  have  now  cut  themselves  off  from  all  return.  If 
they  fall  singly  or  even  in  couples  into  the  hands  of  the  vil- 
lagers, they  are  always  murdered.  No  member  of  the  "Red'' 
Guard  dares  risk  his  life  by  returning  to  his  native  village, 
where  his  father  will  be  the  first  to  kill  him.  I  maintain 
that  there  must  be  something  wrong  with  a  regime  which 
has  aroused  such  universal  hatred,  in  such  a  comparatively 
short  time  and  amongst  whom?  Amongst  the  very  class  it 
strove  to  uplift,  to  free,  to  benefit,  and  to  render  happy  I 
have  been  closely  connected  with  this  region  all  my  life, 
and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  peasant  population 
never  felt  one  hundredth  part  of  the  hatred  and  hostility 
towards  the  representatives  of  the  czarist  regime  and  the 
gendarmes  that  it  does  toward  us  members  of  the  Soviets  and 
our  militia  Our  aims  have  been  misunderstood,  our  actions 
have  been  misinterpreted,  and  once  we  have  failed  to  win  the 
support  of  the  very  masses  we  set  out  to  save,  we  may  as 
well  confess  that  our  failure  has  been  complete.  There  is 
a  curse  upon  our  party.  Ruin  and  desolation  follow  in  our 
train.  The  innocent  blood  of  thousands  cries  out  for  ven- 
geance against  us.  Our  doom  is  fast  approaching.  Coun- 
ter-revolution stalks  openly  amongst  us,  the  gaunt  spectre 
of  utter  famine  and  complete  nakedness  mocks  us  in  the 
towns  and  villages  alike.  But  worst  of  all  is  the  conscious- 
ness of  failure;  we,  the  would-be  liberators  of  Lhe  world, 
who  are  execrated  openly  by  the  populace ;  we,  who  can  see 
no  safety  in  the  grim  looks  and  expectant  glances  of  our 
guards ;  we,  whose  names  are  used  by  the  dregs  of  the  town 
as  the  foulest  epithets ;  we,  who  set  out  so  confidently  to 
climb  to  the  sun  and  have  ended  by  falling  into  the  cesspool 
in   our   own   backyards.     I   was   always   against   the   "Red 


THE  ABUSE  OF  POWER  191 

Terror"  and  bitterly  shall  we  pay  for  it.  Not  thus  did  we 
plan  in  Paris,  Geneva,  and  Luzerne;  not  for  this  did  we 
swelter  and  freeze  alternately  in  czarist  prisons  in  Siberia 
or  rot  in  salt  mines.  This  is  not  the  end  we  had  in  view 
when  we  risked  our  lives,  breaking  our  prisons  and  traveling 
illegally  across  the  whole  of  Russia,  to  pass  the  western 
frontier.  Then  we  were  always  upheld  in  our  weak  mo- 
ments, in  our  privations,  and  in  our  sufferings,  by  the 
thought  of  our  glorious  cause,  by  picturing  to  ourselves  the 
day  when  we  should  free  this  great  and  glorious  nation  of 
ours  and  take  our  place  as  old  and  tried  revolutionary  vet- 
erans at  the  head  of  our  countrymen  in  their  triumphant 
march  towards  peace,  progress  and  plenty.  This  is  what 
we  visioned  and  the  actuality  is  what  I  have  already  de- 
scribed. I  feel  tired  and  depressed.  I  know  that  the  "Red 
Terror"  was  a  mistake,  and  I  have  a  terrible  suspicion  that 
our  cause  has  been  betrayed  at  the  moment  of  its  uttermost 
realization. 

Yours  in  fraternal  greeting, 

N.  LOPOUSHKIN. 

This  was  his  last  act  for  the  cause  of  free  Russia; 
after  finishing  the  letter  he  committed  suicide. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL 

The  Bolshevist  government  is  not  a  national  govern- 
ment. It  has  never  pretended  to  be  a  scheme  of  govern- 
ment for  Russia  alone,  it  has  openly  avowed  its  purpose 
to  destroy  the  existing  order  of  society  by  inciting  the 
workers  of  the  world  to  tear  down  the  governments  of 
their  own  countries,  and  establish  a  dictatorship  of  the 
proletariat  in  which  the  nations  of  the  world  are  to  be 
but  units  in  an  International.  Russia  is  the  nucleus. 
According  to  the  Bolsheviki,  patriotism  is  a  means  of 
exploitation  and  must  be  relegated  to  the  scrap  heap  of 
superstitions. 

Lenin,  at  Petrograd  in  1918,  declared  that  "the  chief 
task  to  which  we  set  ourselves  at  the  very  beginning  of 
the  war  was  to  turn  the  imperialistic  war  into  a  civil 
war."  Lenin  knows  no  right  except  might ;  his  one 
weapon  is  force.  For  over  two  years  he  has  tried  Avith 
force  to  break  down  the  will  of  the  Russian  people,  and 
compel  them  to  accept  communism.  Lenin  has  not  been 
contented  with  beating  the  Russian  people  into  submis- 
sion, his  plan  is  to  force  communism  upon  the  world. 
He  has  branded  all  existing  governments  as  vile,  and 
commanded  the  workers  everywhere  to  arise  and  seize 

192 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  193 

the  governments  of  their  own  lands,  caUing  upon  the  men 
to  be  strong  of  heart  and  not  be  afraid  of  blood.  He  has 
denounced  political  action,  scoffed  at  parliamentary 
methods  and  decried  peaceful  voting.  His  command  to 
the  workers  is :  "Arm  yourselves  and  disarm  the  bour- 
geoisie." He  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  meaning 
of  his  command.  He  wrote  the  aim  and  object  of  Bol- 
shevism into  the  Soviet  constitution  when  he  defined  the 
fundamental  task  as  being  the  "Victory  of  socialism  in 
all  lands."  He  blazoned  his  war  cry  on  the  coat  of  arms 
of  the  Soviet  government  in  these  words :  "Workers  of 
the  world,  unite." 

Bucharin,  the  leading  Bolshevist  propagandist.  Chair- 
man of  the  Third  International,  set  forth  the  purpose 
of  the  Communists. 

"The  program  of  the  Communist  party  (the  Bolshe- 
viki)  is  the  program  of  the  liberation  of  the  proletariat 
not  only  in  one  country,  it  is  the  program  of  the  libera- 
tion of  the  proletariat  of  all  countries,  because  it  is  the 
program  of  international  revolution.  The  overthrow  of 
imperialistic  government  by  means  of  armed  revolt  is 
the  road  to  the  international  dictatorship  of  the  working 
class." 

In  his  New  Year's  message  for  1920,  Lenin  boldly  as- 
serted: "There  will  be  Soviets  at  Berlin,  Washington, 
Paris,  and  London.  Soviet  authority  will  be  supreme 
throughout  the  world." 

In  May,  1919,  the  Bolshevist  authorities  officially  pro- 
claimed :  "Long  live  civil  war,  the  only  just  war,  in  which 
the  oppressed  class  fights  its  oppressors." 


194  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  Bolsheviki  have  a  single  foreign  policy.  It  is  to 
create  strife  among  the  people  of  the  world,  develop  what 
they  call  "class  consciousness,"  crystallize  hate,  and  pro- 
mote the  organization  of  civil  wars.  This  is  preliminary 
and  prepares  the  way  for  the  world  revolution.  Lenin 
has  repeatedly  said  and  written  that  the  Bolshevist  gov- 
ernment in  Russia  cannot  succeed,  if  the  present  govern- 
ments of  the  world  are  permitted  to  exist.  These  are 
Lenin's  words : 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  socialist  revolution  in  Europe 
must  come  and  zvill  come.  All  our  hopes  for  the  definite 
triumph  of  socialism  are  based  upon  this  conviction. 

The  plan  to  bring  about  world  revolution  has  been 
carefully  worked  out.  Propaganda  has  carried  the  mes- 
sage to  every  corner  of  the  world.  Bolshevist  gold  has 
been  used  unsparingly.  Moscow  is  the  capital  of  the 
world  movement  to  bring  about  the  upheaval.  A  proc- 
lamation was  issued  on  February  24,  1919,  calling 
upon  the  proletariat  of  the  world  to  send  delegates  to  a 
Communist  Litemational  at  Moscow.  This  was  to  be  the 
first  organization  of  the  new  world  government.  It  was 
financed,  organized  and  controlled  by  the  Bolshevist  dic- 
tators. The  call  for  the  Third  International  defined  the 
groups  in  the  various  countries  that  were  eligible  for 
representation  in  the  Third  International.  In  America 
it  invited  the  Socialist  Party  (especially  the  group  repre- 
sented by  Debs),  the  I,  Wt  W.,  and  the  Socialist  Labor 
Party  to  send  delegates. 

The  followers  of  Debs  were  honored  with  first  place 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  195 

among  those  considered  fit  to  have  a  voice  in  the  Third 
International.  Debs,  who  on  four  different  occasions, 
was  the  Socialist  candidate  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  wrote  in  the  "Appeal  to  Reason,"  September  2, 
191 1 :  "Let  us  marshal  our  forces  and  develop  our  power 
for  the  revolt.  ...  A  few  men  may  be  needed  who  are 
not  afraid  to  die.  .  .  .  Let  us  swear  that  we  will  fight  to 
the  last  ditch,  that  we  will  strike  blow  for  blow,  that  we 
will  use  every  weapon  at  our  command  and  that  we  will 
never  surrender." 

Victor  Berger,  the  first  and  only  Socialist  congress- 
man, in  a  signed  editorial  in  the  Social  Democratic 
Herald,  July  31,  1909,  says: 

In  view  of  the  plutocratic  law-making  of  the  present 
day,  it  is  easy  to  predict  that  the  safety  and  hope  of  this 
country  will  finally  lie  in  one  direction  only — that  of  a 
violent  and  bloody  revolution.  Therefore,  I  say,  each  of 
the  500,000  Socialist  voters  and  of  the  2,000,000  working- 
men  who  instinctively  incline  our  way,  should  .  .  .  have  a 
good  rifle  and  the  necessary  rounds  of  ammunition  in  his 
home  and  be  prepared  to  back  up  his  ballot  witli  his  bullet 
if  necessary. 

The  I.  W.  W.  have  never  denied  that  they  seek  to 
destroy  the  labor  union  movement  in  America,  and  in 
its  place  build  a  single  union,  and  that  the  object  of  one 
great  union  is  not  industrial,  but  political,  and  that  the 
aim  and  purpose  of  such  a  union  is  to  seize  the  govern- 
ment. The  International  Workers  of  the  World  is  a 
mobilization  plan  in  the  guise  of  a  labor  union.  Its  rec- 
ord in  the  United  States  is  distinguished  by  violence  and 


196  THE  NEW  WORLD 

terror.  The  I.  W.  W.  are  made  preferred  citizens  of  the 
United  States  by  the  Bolsheviki,  and  because  of  their 
eminent  quahfications  are  invited  to  become  "world  citi- 
zens" in  the  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat. 

The  Socialist  Labor  Party,  the  third  group  asked  to 
represent  America  in  the  Third  International,  is  made  up 
of  "Left-Wingers" ;  and  the  "Left-Wingers"  in  the  So- 
cialist Party  are  those  who  favor  a  "Red"  baptism  to 
cleanse  the  world  of  the  sins  of  the  pale  Socialists,  who 
prefer  political  action  and  peaceful  voting  to  the  torch, 
the  bullet,  and  the  bomb. 

The  call  of  the  Third  International  Is  the  declaration 
of  the  dictatorship,  and  in  it  we  find  announced  the  essen- 
tials of  their  program. 

1.  The  present  is  the  period  of  destruction  and  the 
crushing  of  the  capitalistic  system  of  the  whole  world,  and 
it  will  be  a  catastrophe  for  the  whole  European  culture, 
should  capitalism  with  all  its  insoluble  contradictions  not 
be  done  away  with. 

2.  The  aim  of  the  proletariat  must  now  be  immediately 
to  conquer  power.  To  conquer  power  means  to  destroy 
the  governmental  apparatus  of  the  bourgeoisie  and  to  or- 
ganize a  new  proletarian  governmental  apparatus. 

3.  The  new  apparatus  of  the  government  must  express 
the  dictatorship  of  the  working  class  (and  in  certain  places 
even  the  dictatorship  of  the  half-proletariat  in  the  villages, 
that  is,  the  peasant  proletariat),  that  is,  to  persist  in  the 
systematic  suppression  of  the  exploiting  classes  and  be  the 
means  of  expropriating  them.  No  false  bourgeois  demo- 
cracy— this  treacherous  form  of  the  power  of  a  financial 
oligarchy  with  its  mere  external  equality — but  a  proletarian 
democracy   able    to    realize   the    freedom    of   the    working 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  197 

masses;  no  parliamentarism,  but  the  self-government  of  the 
masses  through  their  elective  organs ;  no  capitalistic  bureau- 
cracy, but  governing  organs  which  have  been  appointed  by 
the  masses  themselves,  through  the  real  participation  of 
these  masses  in  the  governing  of  the  country  and  the  social- 
istic work  of  reorganization — such,  ought  to  be  the  type  of 
the  proletarian  state.  The  Soviet  power  or  a  corresponding 
organization  of  government  is  its  concrete  expression. 

4.  The  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  must  be  the  occa- 
sion for  the  immediate  expropriation  of  capital  and  the  eli- 
mination of  the  private  right  of  owning  the  means  of  pro- 
duction, through  making  them  common  public  property.  The 
socialization  (meaning  doing  away  with  private  property 
and  making  it  the  property  of  the  proletarian  state,  which 
is  managed  by  the  workers  on  a  socialistic  basis)  of  the 
large-scale  industries  and  the  central  bodies  organized  by 
the  same,  including  the  banks,  the  confiscation  of  the  capital- 
istic agricultural  production,  the  monopolization  of  large- 
scale  commerce ;  the  socialization  of  the  large  buildings  in 
the  towns  and  in  the  country;  the  establishment  of  a  work- 
ingmen's  government  and  the  concentration  of  the  economic 
functions  in  the  hands  of  the  organs  of  the  proletarian  dic- 
tatorship— are  the  most  essential  aims  of  the  day. 

5.  In  order  to  protect  the  socialist  revolution  against  ex- 
ternal and  internal  enemies  and  to  assist  the  fighting  prole- 
tariats of  other  countries,  it  becomes  necessary  entirely  to 
disarm  the  bourgeoisie  and  its  agents  and  to  arm  the  prole- 
tariat. 

6.  The  world  situation  demands  immediate  and  as  perfect 
as  possible  relations  between  the  different  groups  of  the 
revolutionary  proletariat  and  a  complete  alliance  of  all  the 
countries  in  which  the  revolution  has  already  succeeded. 

7.  The  most  important  method  is  the  mass  action  of  the 
proletariat,  including  armed  struggle  against  the  govern- 
ment power  of  capitalists. 


198  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  Third  International  met  at  Moscow  from  March  2 
to  March  6,  1919.  It  adopted  a  manifesto  which  was 
signed  by  Lenin  and  Trotzky,  the  leading  spirits  of  the 
Congress.  This  Manifesto  has  been  distributed  all  over 
the  world.  In  one  particular  at  least,  it  can  be  com- 
mended, and  that  is,  for  its  astonishing  frankness.  It 
boldly  boasts  that  its  message  is  revolution,  and  that 
its  mission  is  to  organize  and  mobilize  a  "Red"  army  in 
every  country  in  the  world.  Lender  the  caption,  "The 
Way  to  Victory,"  the  Manifesto  reads: 

The  revolutionary  era  compels  the  proletariat  to  make 
use  of  the  means  of  battle  which  will  concentrate  its  entire 
energies,  namely,  mass  action  with  its  logical  resultant,  di- 
rect conflict  with  the  governmental  machinery  in  open  com- 
bat. All  other  methods,  such  as  revolutionary  use  of  bour- 
geois parliamentarism,  will  be  of  only  secondary  signifi- 
cance. 

The  Manifesto  declares  that  the  First  International 
foresaw  the  future  development  and  pointed  the  way; 
that  the  Second  International  gathered  together  and  or- 
ganized the  proletariat;  that  the  Third  International  is 
the  International  of  open  mass  action,  of  revolution,  the 
international  of  deeds.  The  work  of  the  Third  Inter- 
national is  mapped  o«t  in  the  Manifesto  in  these  words : 

The  task  of  the  International  Communist  Party  is  now  to 
overthrow  this  order  (all  present  governments)  and  to 
erect  in  its  place  the  structure  of  the  Socialist  world  order. 
We  urge  the  workingmen  and  women  of  all  countries  to 
unite  under  the  communist  banner,  the  emblem  under  which 
the  first  great  victories  have  already  been  won. 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  199 

Proletarians  of  all  lands !  In  the  war  against  imperialis- 
tic barbarity,  against  monarchy,  against  the  privileged 
classes,  against  the  bourgeois  state  and  bourgeois  property, 
against  all  forms  and  varieties  of  social  and  national  oppres- 
sion  UNITE  ! 

Under  the  standard  of  the  Workingmen's  Councils,  under 
the  banner  of  the  Third  International,  in  the  revolutionary 
struggle  for  power  and  the  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat, 
proletarians  of  all  countries,  unite  ! 

The  Communist  International  in  its  appeal  "to  the  toil- 
ers of  the  world"  says : 

The  communist  revolution  grows.  The  Soviet  republics 
in  Russia,  Hungary,  and  Bavaria  report  daily  what  has 
been  accomplished.  Germany  is  shaking  with  civil  war.  A 
revolution  is  taking  place  in  Turkey.  In  Austria  and  Czecho- 
slovakia the  workmen  are  gathering  under  the  glorious  flag 
of  socialism.  In  France  enormous  demonstrations  have 
started;  in  Italy  the  struggle  boils  and  the  workmen  call  for 
a  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat.  In  England  strikes  have 
taken  on  the  character  of  an  epidemic.  In  America  the 
working  class  come  out  on  the  street ;  in  Japan  the  workmen 
are  agitated.  In  the  neutral  countries,  like  Holland  and 
Switzerland,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  workmen  recently 
took  part  in  a  political  strike.  The  workmen  of  all  coun- 
tries have  understood  that  the  decisive  moment  has  come. 
Soviets,  by  this  you  will  conquer. 

The  workmen  know  that  only  a  dictatorship  of  the  prole- 
tariat can  save  humanity  from  that  bloody  horror  into  which 
the  bourgeoisie  in  all  countries  has  plunged  it.  The  work- 
men know  that  the  proletarian  dictatorship  will  lead  to  a 
triumph  of  socialism.  There  is  no  middle  course.  Either 
the  bloody  dictatorship  of  executioners-general,  who  will 
kill  hundreds  of  thousands  of  workmen  and  the  peasants  in 
the  name  of  the  interests  of  a  band  of  bankers,  or  the  dicta- 


200  THE  NEW  WORLD 

torship  of  the  working  class,  that  is  of  the  overwhelming 
majority  of  toilers  which  will  disarm  the  bourgeoisie,  create 
its  own  "Red"  army  and  free  the  whole  world  of  slavery. 
Down  with  the  autocracy  of  czars  and  kings ! 

The  Severnaya  Kommuna  of  March  14,  1919,  reports 
a  speech  made  by  Lenin  at  the  Petrograd  Soviet  on 
March  12,  1919: 

We  can  understand  the  activities  of  the  Council  of  Peo- 
ple's Commissaries  for  the  last  year  only  if  we  assess  the 
role  of  the  Soviets  on  the  scale  of  world  revolution.  Often 
the  daily  routine  of  administration  and  details  that  could 
not  be  avoided  in  the  work  of  construction  are  pushing 
us  to  one  side  and  forcing  us  to  forget  the  greater  task  of 
world  revolution.  But  only  when  we  assess  the  role  of  the 
Soviets  on  the  world  scale  shall  we  be  able  properly  to 
handle  the  details  of  our  internal  life  and  regulate  them 
properly.  The  task  of  construction  depends  entirely  upon 
how  soon  revolution  will  triumph  in  the  more  important 
countries  of  Europe.  Only  after  such  a  victory  shall  we  be 
able  seriously  to  undertake  the  work  of  construction.  The 
expert  accountants  from  Berne  speak  of  us  as  the  champions 
of  the  tactics  of  violence,  but  in  referring  to  this  they  do  not 
see  what  the  bourgeoisie  is  doing  in  their  own  countries, 
namely,  that  it  is  governing  exclusively  by  violence. 

...  The  Bolshevist  government  has  declared  war  upon  the 
world.  In  its  propaganda  it  seeks  to  organize  and  incite, 
the  discontented  of  the  world  to  mob  violence.  It  is  a 
propaganda  of  hate.  It  has  scattered  broadcast  in  the 
soil  of  unrest  poisonous  seeds.  It  has  played  to  every 
prejudice,  appealed  to  the  lowest  and  worst  in  men.  It 
has  falsely  spoken  of  the  World  War  as  the  enterprise 
of  capital.    It  has  cunningly  charged  the  terrible  shedding 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  201: 

of  blood  to  imperialism,  not  to  the  imperialism  of  Prus- 
sia, but  to  the  capitalistic  imperialism  of  the  world.  It 
has  listed  the  ill  effects  of  the  war  and  placed  the  blame 
for  them  not  on  the  war  but  on  the  capitalists.  It  has 
pointed  to  the  poverty  and  the  disorganization  of 
the  world  directly  due  to  the  war,  and  has  attributed  all 
the  tragic  results  of  a  four  year's  struggle  with  autoc- 
racy,  not  to  the  war,  but  to  the  imperiaHsm  of  so-called 
bourgeois  governments.  It  has  sought  to  multiply  and 
intensify  unrest.  It  hopes  to  bring  about  a  world  up- 
heaval which  will  destroy  all  government  except  the  dis- 
order of  the  proletariat. 

Lenin  insults  those  who  do  not  accept  his  gospel  of 
world  revolution.  He  is  particularly  bitter  toward  so- 
cialists who  advocate  the  ballot  and  oppose  the  bayonet. 
Those  who  favor  evolution  are  the  enemies  of  mankind ; 
those  who  seek  a  new  order  through  peace  are  targets 
for  his  abuse. 

Writing  of  the  military  program  of  the  proletariat  re- 
volution, in  the  November,  1919,  number  of  the  Class' 
Struggle,  Lenin  says: 

Whoever  in  view  of  this  last  war  is  not  willing  to  carry 
out  this  demand  (mass  action,  open  battle,  and  revolution) 
let  him  be  good  enough  to  refrain  from  uttering  large  words 
about  the  international  revolutionary  democracy,  about  the 
social  revolution,  and  about  the  war  against  wars. 

Of  those  who  have  denounced  militarism  and  de- 
manded disarmament,  Lenin  wrote : 

What  will  the  proletariat  women  do  to  prevent  this? 
Merely  denounce  all  wars  and  militarism?     Merely  demand 


202  THE  NEW  WORLD 

disarmament?  Never  will  the  women  of  an  oppressed  and 
revolutionary  class  resign  themselves  to  so  despicable  a 
role.  On  the  contrary,  they  will  say  to  their  sons:  "You 
will  soon  be  grown*  up.  You  will  have  a  gun.  Take  it  and 
learn  how  to  use  it — not  in  order  to  fight  your  brothers,  as  is 
the  practice  in  this  war  of  plunder,  but  in  order  to  fight  the 
bourgeoisie  of  your  own  country;  in  order  to  put  an  end  to 
misery  and  wars;  not  by  means  of  kind  wishes,  but  by  over- 
throwing and  disarming  the  bourgeoisie." 

The  Third  International  followed  the  Bolshevist  gov- 
ernment in  every  particular,  it  deified  Lenin  and  Trotzky, 
it  banished  Christ  and  set  up  Marx  as  the  Omnipotent 
One.  It  pledged  allegiance  to  the  Marxian  formula: 
"Religion  is  the  fantastic  degradation  of  human  nature." 

Karl  Marx,  the  prophet  of  Socialism,  the  Messiah  of 
Bolshevism  wrote: 

Modern  industrial  labor,  modern  subjection  to  capital  ,  .  . 
has  stripped  him  (the  proletarian)  of  every  trace  of  national 
character.  Law,  morality,  religion  are  to  him  so  many 
bourgeois  prejudices,  behind  which  lurk  in  ambush  just 
as  many  bourgeois  interests.  .  .  .    the  working  men  have 

NO  COUNTRY. 

In  Bolshevist  Moscow,  the  meeting  place  of  the  Third 
International,  the  doors  of  many  churches  are  nailed 
shut,  and  on  the  doors  of  the  Cathedral  of  Vassily  Bla- 
genny,  and  upon  the  image  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  a  pos- 
ter announced :  "Religion  is  the  opium  of  the  people." 

On  his  way  back  from  Holland  to  Russia,  Dr.  Ouden- 
dijk,  the  Dutch  minister  in  Petrograd,  said : 

I  wish  to  give  a  solemn  warning  to  the  working  classes  of 
all  nations.     Bolshevism,  I  say  without  exaggeration,  is  the 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  203 

end  of  civilization.  I  have  known  Russia  intimately  for 
twenty  years,  and  never  have  the  working  classes  of  Russia 
suffered  as  they  are  suffering  at  the  present  moment.  I 
have  never  seen  or  dreamed  of  the  possibility  o^  such  cor- 
ruption, tyranny,  and  the  absence  of  all  semblance  of  free- 
dom, as  there  are  in  Russia  at  the  present  moment. 

Mme.  Catherine  Breshkovsky  is  the  greatest  figure  in 
the  history  of  the  Russian  Revolution.  She  lived  for  the 
Russian  people,  and  she  gave  all  she  had  of  soul,  mind, 
and  body,  to  mothering  liberty  in  Russia.  No  woman  in 
all  the  history  of  the  world  has  endured  more  for  a 
people,  for  their  freedom,  than  this  hero  woman  who 
spent  thirty-two  of  her  seventy-three  years  of  life  in 
Russian  and  Siberian  prisons.  She  is  the  Saint  of  the 
Revolution,  her  life  embodies  the  struggle  of  Russia.  In 
the  New  York  Times  of  January  26,  1919,  she  said: 

It  is  a  calamity,  not  alone  for  Russia  but  for  the  world 
at  large,  to  permit  Bolshevism  to  flourish  and  expand.  .  .  . 

The  situation  in  Russia  is  deplorable.  There  is  no  exag- 
geration in  cable  dispatches  which  state  that  our  people  are 
literally  starving  to  death.  There  is  bread  in  some  places, 
but  not  in  all.  There  are  no  means  of  transportation;  the 
railroads  have  completely  broken  down.  The  people  in 
the  cities  who  have  some  supplies  refuse  to  sell  anything. 
We  have  no  clothes,  no  tools,  no  instruments,  no  medicine, 
and  little  or  no  food.  The  stocks  in  the  cooperative  stores 
of  the  villages  are  almost  totally  depleted. 

At  the  start  the  Bolsheviki  had  the  people  with  them. 
They  promised  peace,  bread,  clothes,  education — they  gave, 
ah,  they  gave  only  money,  and  that  to  themselves.  We  Rus- 
sians are  ashamed  to  say  that,  rich  as  our  country  is,  we 
are  beggars. 


204  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  farmers  will  not  sell  to  the  Bolsheviki,  consequently 
many  of  the  people  of  Russia  are  starving.  We  have  no 
schools,  no  communication,  no  transportation,  no  bread,  no 
peace,  no  industry — Russia  is  destroyed.  Not  even  paper 
have  we  to  print  our  alphabet.  Consequently,  education  is 
at  a  standstill.  Even  the  newspapers  have  been  suppressed, 
except  those  of  the  Bolsheviki.  You  in  America  know 
nothing  save  what  they  tell  you ;  the  truth  is  suppressed.  .  .  . 
The  only  hope  for  Russia  is  the  overthrow  of  the  Bolshevist 
forces  and  the  election  of  a  Constituent  Assembly. 

BOLSHEVIST   PROPAGANDA    CANNOT   BE   SILENCED 
BY  FALSEHOOD 

What  is  the  Russian  situation  ?  A  minority  has  seized 
the  government  and  is  holding  it  by  force.  The  great 
majority  of  the  people  in  Russia  are  in  the  position  of  a 
group  of  unarmed  men  in  a  public  meeting  confronted 
by  a  small  band  of  armed  terrorists.  Radek,  a  prominent 
Bolshevik,  has  said: 

I  am  one  who  does  not  deny  that  there  has  been  terror  in 
Russia.  The  government  had  to  adopt  drastic  measures  to 
keep  the  hungry,  disgruntled,  war-weary  millions  in  leash. 

Russia  is  in  the  throes  of  civil  war.  On  the  one  hand 
we  find  the  "Red"  Army,  on  the  other  the  great  mass  of 
the  people,  even  though  unarmed,  rising  in  protest  against 
the  dictator.  Lenin  himself  admits  that  his  policy  is  one 
of  coercion  by  force  and  violence.  In  his  address  to  the 
American  workingmen  he  declares: 

In  reality  a  class  struggle  in  revolutionary  times  has 
always  inevitably  taken  on  the  form  of  a  civil  war,  and 
civil  war  is  unthinkable  without  the  worst  kind  of  destruc- 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  205 

tion,  without  terror  and  limitations  on  the  form  of  democ- 
racy. One  must  be  a  sickly  sentimentalist  not  to  be  able 
to  see,  to  understand  and  appreciate  this  necessity.  The 
class  struggle  is  permanent.  We  are  living  in  revolutionary 
times.  In  order  to  fight  the  class  struggle  effectively  in  such 
times,  in  order  to  get  power  and  keep  it,  civil  war,  terrorism, 
etc.,  are  necessary.    Here  is  the  whole  doctrine. 

No  less  an  accurate  observer  than  Gorky  interpreted 
the  reign  of  terror  in  Russia  in  1918: 

In  Russia  conscience  is  dead.  The  Russian  people,  in  fact,, 
have  lost  all  sense  of  right  and  wrong.  "Pillage  whatever 
there  is  to  pillage,"  is  the  motto  of  the  two  groups  of  Bol- 
sheviki.  The  "Red"  Guard,  constituted  to  attack  the  coun- 
ter-revolutionists, shoot  without  right  anyone  whom  they 
suspect.  Pillage  in  all  its  forms  is  the  only  thing  which  is 
organized.  In  Petrograd  every  Bolshevist  citizen  may 
share  in  the  spoil. 

For  the  period  of  revolution  10,000  13'nchings  have  already 
(up  to  1918)  been  accounted  for.  This  is  how  democracy  is 
meting  out  justice  to  those  who  have  somehow  sinned 
against  the  new  order. 

During  the  days  of  the  progress  of  drunkenness,  human 
beings  were  shot  down  like  dogs  and  the  cold-blooded 
destruction  of  human  lives  came  to  be  a  commonplace,  daily 
occurrence.  In  the  newspaper  Provda  the  excesses  of  the 
drunken  mobs  are  written  up  as  the  "provocative  acts  of  the 
bourgeoisie,"  which  is  clearly  a  misrepresentation,  the  em- 
ployment of  a  petty  phrase  which  can  lead  only  to  the 
further  shedding  of  blood. 

A  look,  a  word,  constitutes  a  crime  in  the  Soviet  state ; 
the  punishment  is  frequently  death ;  the  accused  is  denied 
the  right  to  face  his  accusers.    The  language  of  the  Bol- 


2o6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

shevist  decrees  is :  "Execute  them  on  the  spot."  In  the 
first  month  of  the  Lenin  government  "Extraordinary 
Committees  to  Combat  Counter-revolution,  Speculation, 
and  Sabotage"  were  introduced.  Immediately  the  All- 
Russian  Extraordinary  Commission  ordered  the  "merci- 
less shooting  of  all  opposed  to  the  Soviet  government 
by  detachments  of  the  Commission  at  the  place  of  the 
crime." 

This  is  the  Russia  of  the  Third  International.  These 
are  the  methods  of  the  men  who  are  appealing  to  the  dis- 
contented. They  have  invented  fine-sounding  phrases  in 
which  are  concealed  the  seeds  of  death. 

President  Wilson  summed  up  our  danger  in  a  state- 
ment made  in  the  office  of  M.  Pichon  at  the  Quai  D'Or- 
say,  Paris,  on  January  i6,  1919,  at  the  conference  called 
for  a  preliminary  discussion  regarding  the  situation  in 
Russia.  The  notes  of  the  conversations  of  the  confer- 
ence participated  in  by  Lloyd  George,  Balfour,  Pichon, 
and  Baron  Sonnino  give  the  substance  of  the  President's 
ideas  in  the  following  words : 

The  President  did  not  believe  that  there  could  be  sym- 
pathy anywhere  with  the  brutal  aspect  of  Bolshevism,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  fact  of  the  domination  of  large  vested 
interests  in  the  political  and  economic  world.  While  it 
might  be  true  that  this  evil  was  in  process  of  discussion 
and  slow  reform,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  general  body 
of  men  has  grown  impatient  at  the  failure  to  bring  about 
necessary  reform.  The  President  stated  that  there  were 
many  men  who  represented  large  vested  interests  in  the 
United  States  who  saw  the  necessity  for  these  reforms  and 
desired  something  which  should  be  worked  out  at  the  Peace 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  207 

Conference,  namely,  the  establishment  of  some  machinery 
to  provide  for  the  opportunity  of  individuals,  greater  than 
the  world  has  ever  known.  Capital  and  labor  in  the  United 
States  are  not  friends.  Still  they  are  not  enemies  in  the 
sense  that  they  are  thinking  of  resorting  to  physical  force 
to  settle  their  differences.  But  they  are  distrustful,  each 
of  the  other.  Society  cannot  continue  on  that  plane.  On 
the  one  hand  there  is  a  minority  possessing  capital  and 
brains;  on  the  other  a  majority  consisting  of  the  great 
bodies  of  workers  who  are  essential  to  the  minority,  but  do 
not  trust  the  minority  and  feel  that  the  minority  will  never 
render  them  their  rights.  A  way  must  be  found  to  put  trust 
and  cooperation  between  these  two. 

President  Wilson  pointed  out  that  the  whole  world  was 
disturbed  by  the  question  before  the  Bolsheviki  came  into 

power.  SEEDS  need  soil,  and  the  BOLSHEVIST  SEEDS  FOUND 
A   SOIL   ALREADY   PREPARED   FOR   THEM. 

Prior  to  the  break-up  of  1914  the  working  people  had 
doubts  about  their  ability  to  secure  free,  decent  lives 
through  political  action.  The  war  and  depression  have 
crystallized  these  doubts,  and  the  war  shock  has  quick- 
ened eagerness  for  action.  The  desire  for  a  change  is 
more  than  agitation.  It  has  grown  into  determination 
and  resolution.  Since  the  war  the  suspicion  of  the  rad- 
ical wing  of  the  working  class  that  powerful  "interests" 
would  and  could  defeat  them  on  the  field  of  political 
action  has  become  a  conviction. 

Had  the  allied  governments  met  the  situation  with 
candor  and  common  sense  they  would  have  used  every 
available  agency  to  tear  the  mask  from  the  Bolshevist 
government  and  to  show  the  working  people  of  the  world 


2o8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  true  character  of  that  government  and  the  methods 
used  by  it. 

The  allied  governments  contented  themselves  with  tell- 
ing* the  people  that  Bolshevism  was  a  bad,  dangerous  pit- 
fall. It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  have  been  a  wiser  pol- 
icy to  throw  the  searchlight  on  the  Soviet  plan  and  ex- 
pose it.  The  Soviet  constitution  should  have  been  used 
as  propaganda.  It  requires  little  comment.  The  story  of 
the  Third  International  and  its  aims  and  objects  should 
have  been  given  to*  the  world.  It  was  useless  to  fight 
falsehood  with  abuse,  fire  with  fire.  We  should  have 
fought  fire  with  water,  propaganda  with  truth,  cunning 
with  frankness.  A  plan  should  have  been  devised  to 
bring  the  truth  about  this  evil  home  to  men  and  women. 
The  people  of  the  world  are  sane  and  democratic.  They 
know  a  danger  when  they  see  it,  and  if  they  had  been 
given  a  chance  to  know  and  see  the  danger  of  the  "Red 
peril"  they  would  have  shunned  it  as  .they  avoid  a  con- 
tagious disease.  When  the  "flu"  epidemic  broke  upon 
the  world,  the  pages  of  the  newspapers  told  over  and 
over  again  the  danger  of  contagion  from  sputum  and 
droppings,  and  the  people  speedily  accepted  the  warning. 
We  have  had  conflicting  comment  about  Bolshevism,  but 
little  plain  truth.  It  has  been  characterized  and  con- 
demned. It  should»have  been  explained.  President  Wil- 
son once  remarked  that  we  in  America  in  discussing  pub- 
lic problems  generate  too  much  heat  and  not  enough 
light. 

The  working  people  have  observed  that  a  portion  of 
the   press    previously   allied   with  the   "interests"    and 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  209 

against  the  rights  of  the  people  thundered  out  most  sav- 
agely against  the  Bolshevist  government.  This  class  of 
papers  denounced  Bolshevism,  but  gave  little  space  to  the 
.calm,  cool,  plain  statement  of  the  truth  about  it  or  its 
methods.  Such  papers  were  as  yellow  in  their  conser- 
vatism as  the  Bolsheviki  were  "red"  in  their  propaganda. 
The  newspapers  of  this  class  had  lost  the  confidence 
of  the  workers.  Every  time  such  papers  violently  abused 
the  Bolsheviki,  it  reacted  upon  the  workers  and  strength- 
ened their  belief  that  Bolshevism  was  the  panacea  for  the 
ills  of  the  toilers.  The  Bolshevist  propagandists  were  in 
a  better  position;  the  Bolshevist  movement  commanded 
the  admiration  and  sympathy  of  the  workers  of  the  world 
because  of  its  connection  with  the  liberation  of  Russia 
from  the  rule  of  the  Czar;  the  Bolsheviki  appeared  as 
the  under  dog  in  the  fight,  and  the  average  man  has  a 
natural  sympathy  for  the  under  dog. 

Many  thoughtless  business  men  denounced  Bolshevism 
without  explaining  it.  Some  of  these  employers  de- 
nounced the  workers  in  their  own  countries  when  they 
sought  better  conditions  and  called  them  Bolsheviki.  To 
the  workers  it  seemed  that  their  enemies  had  lined  up 
against  Bolshevism,  and  they  reasoned  that  "what  is  bad 
for  the  boss  is  good  for  us,"  and  as  a  consequence  their 
leaning  toward  Bolshevism  became  conviction.  These 
mistakes  of  policy,  these  unwise  attitudes  have  reacted 
in  the  minds  of  the  workmen  and  I  have  heard  many 
workers  defend  Bolshevism  on  the  sole  ground  that  they 
beheved  in  it  because  of  the  enemies  it  had  made. 

A  curtain  of  mystery  was  drawn  around  Soviet  Russia. 


210  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Men  who  came  out  of  Russia  bringing  reports  which 
displeased  conservative  opinion  were  abused,  and  their 
reports  were  discredited  without  a  fair  hearing.  Bullit, 
Robbins,  and  Steffens  are  examples  in  America.  The 
workers  at  once  came  to  the  conclusion  that  these  men 
had  found  a  free  government  in  Russia,  a  government 
which  gave  larger  and  better  lives  to  the  people ;  that 
Bolshevism  was  practical ;  that  it  was  succeeding  and 
that  it  was  feared  by  the  "interests."  Of  course,  this  is 
not  the  real  story  brought  from  Russia,  but  the  abuse 
used  to  silence  men  spoke  louder  and  more  eloquently 
than  any  report. 

One  great  London  newspaper  went  so  far  as  to  charge 
the  prohibition  movement  in  the  United  States  with  being 
in  league  with  the  Bolsheviki,  saying  that  the  object  was 
to  increase  unrest  and  irritate  the  workers  by  denying 
them  alcohol,  hoping  that  out  of  this  restlessness  would 
come  revolution. 

Other  counter  Bolshevist  propaganda  pictured  the  Bol- 
shevist movement  as  a  Jewish  propaganda.  This  was 
clearly  an  appeal  to  prejudice.  What  difference  could  it 
make  to  free-minded  people  whether  the  leaders  of  the 
Soviet  plan  were  Jews  or  not?  The  mass  of  the  people 
have  common  sense,  and  saw  in  such  propaganda  an- 
other effort  to  make  them  hostile  to  Bolshevism  by  incit- 
ing race  prejudice. 

Then  came  a  crack  in  the  curtain  of  silence.  Through 
it  issued  the  startling  news  that  the  Bolshevist  govern- 
ment planned  the  nationalization  of  women.  No  rumor 
about  Bolshevist  Russia  was  given  quite  the  prominence 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  211 

and  publicity  that  was  given  to  this  falsehood.  I  have 
talked  to  many  men  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  Bol- 
shevism, who  in  the  last  analysis  based  their  opposition 
to  it  on  their  belief  that  its  program  included  "national 
prostitution."  One  insurance  company  in  America  made 
nation-wide  use  of  this  canard  in  its  advertising.  Of 
course,  it  is  obvious  to  thinking  people — and  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  plain  people  think — that  no 
people  in  the  world  would  adopt  any  such  degenerate 
program.  First,  the  nationalization  of  women  is  not  nec- 
essary to  any  economic  program.  Second,  one  could 
not  round  up  five  per  cent  of  the  people  of  any  country 
in  the  world  who  would  subscribe  to  a  plan  which  con- 
templated the  registration  and  violation  of  their  mothers, 
wives,  daughters,  sisters,  and  sweethearts.  The  Rus- 
sians are  human  beings.  The  women  are  mothers,  wives, 
daughters,  and  sweethearts.  This  evil  and  unnecessary 
lie  about  the  Bolsheviki  fell  of  its  own  weight.  But  it 
left  an  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  workers.  They  con- 
cluded it  was  designed  to  poison  public  opinion  against 
Bolshevism,  and  they  reasoned  that  if  there  were  true 
arguments  against  Bolshevism,  those  who  opposed  it 
would  not  have  resorted  to  falsehood.  Even  more,  the 
workers  argued  that  if  those  who  opposed  Bolshevism 
lied  about  it  in  one  particular,  their  whole  opposition  to 
it  was  a  tissue  of  falsehood  and  their  real  antagonism  was 
based  upon  the  fear  that  the  coming  of  the  dictatorship 
of  the  proletariat  would  put  an  end  to  their  selfish  special 
privileges. 

The  origin  of  this  yarn  about  the  nationalization  of 


212  THE  NEW  WORLD 

women  grew  out  of  the  following  facts :  In  the  little  city 
of  Ufa,  a  drunken  man  made  the  proposal  in  a  Soviet 
that  it  adopt  such  a  measure,  and  a  group  in  the  town 
of  Saratov,  calling  themselves  anarchists,  issued  a  decree 
in  April,  1918,  containing  among  other  provisions  the 
following : 

From  March  i,  the  right  to  possess  women  having  reached 
the  ages  of  seventeen  to  thirty-two  is  abolished. 

The  husbands  may  retain  the  right  to  use  their  wives  with- 
out waiting  their  turn. 

In  case  of  resistance  the  husband  shall  forfeit  his  rights. 

All  women  according  to  this  decree  are  exempt  from 
private  ownership  and  are  proclaimed  to  be  the  property  of 
the  whole  nation. 

It  was  unfair  to  charge  the  Bolshevist  government,  on 
this  evidence,  with  favoring  the  nationalization  of 
women. 

A  second  piece  of  propaganda  was  sent  out  and  given 
first-page  space  in  the  papers  of  the  world.  Its  apparent 
object  was  to  corroborate  the  lie  about  the  nationaliza- 
tion of  women.  This  second  charge  was  that  the  Bolshe- 
viki  had  decided  to  abolish  Christian  names  and  hence- 
forth children  would  be  named  by  number.  To  illus- 
trate, the  first  born  of  the  Trotzky  family  would  be 
Trotzky  No.  i,  the  second  child  would  be  Trotzky  No. 
2,  and  so  on.  This  was  printed  as  serious  news,  as 
truth.  I  have  heard  workingmen  declare  that  the  objects 
of  this  publicity  was  to  set  them  and  their  families 
against  Bolshevism,  and  I  observed  that  it  had  exactly 
the  opposite  effect. 


THE  THIRD  INTERNATIONAL  213 

Would  it  not  have  been,  better  to  tell  the  truth  about 
the  methods  used  by  the  Bolshevist  government  to  de- 
grade womanhood  by  promulgating  decrees  relating  to 
marriage  and  divorce,  v^hich  practically  establish  a  state 
of  free  love?  The  Senate  committee  investigating  Bol- 
shevism, after  examining  much  evidence  on  the  attitude 
of  the  Bolshevist  government  and  its  decrees  toward  the 
home  and  common  morality,  said :  "Their  effect  has 
been  to  furnish  a  vehicle  for  the  legalization  of  prostitu- 
tion by  permitting  the  annulment  of  the  marriage  bond 
at  the  whim  of  the  parties,  recognizing  their  collusive 
purposes  as  a  ground  for  the  severance  of  the  matrimo- 
nial state."  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  are 
but  the  decrees  of  the  Soviet  government  and  are  shun- 
ned and  despised  by  the  Russian  people.  These  decrees 
are  important  only  as  indicating  the  brutal  immoral  ideas 
of  the  dictators. 

Frederick  Engels,  who  collaborated  with  Karl  Marx, 
in  the  writing  of  the  plan  and  program  of  Socialism 
wrote : 

"Three  great  obstacles  block  the  path  of  social  reform: 
private  property,  religion  and  the  present  form  of  marriage." 

The  Allies'  course  has  caused  the  workers  to  increase 
their  suspicion  of  their  government.  A  conviction  has 
come  that  Bolshevism  is  being  cried  down,  libeled,  slan- 
dered, abused,  and  fought  because  its  success  threatened 
the  death  of  special  privilege  and  promised  the  birth  of 
the  "New  Order." 

We  should  not  be  afraid  of  the  Bolshevist  propaganda. 


214  THE  NEW  WORLD 

We  have  the  truth  with  us.  Why  not  use  our  resources 
to  give  the  facts  about  Bolshevism  to  the  people  ?  There 
is  no  occasion  for  secrecy  or  mystery.  Few  people  in 
America  would  entertain  Bolshevist  leanings  if  they  un- 
derstood its  program  and  knew  its  methods.  The  press, 
the  pulpits,  the  platforms  are  available.  Open  the 
schools,  the  churches,  the  libraries,  and  the  community 
centers  and  tell  the  truth  about  Bolshevism. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
INTERMEDDLING  IN  RUSSIA 

The  attitude  of  the  Allies  toward  the  Soviet  Govern- 
ment has  tended  to  create  and  increase  world  unrest. 
Before  we  can  hope  for  industrial  peace  in  the  world  a 
definite  policy  toward  Bolshevist  Russia  must  be  adopted. 
This  is  a  problem  for  statesmanship.  Expediency,  in- 
trigue, and  vacillation  must  give  way  before  world-pa- 
triotism. 

Unfortunately  for  the  people  of  the  world,  the  Allied 
governments  have  been  without  a  definite  policy  toward 
the  Soviet  Government.  Their  attitude  has  been  one  of 
uncertainty ;  at  times  a  purposeless  antagonism  to  Bolshe- 
vism, again  a  spurious  support.  From  the  beginning 
the  Allies  have  opposed  the  Soviet  form  of  government, 
but  their  opposition  has  taken  no  constructive  form;  it 
has  lead  to  nothing;  it  has  amounted  to  a  disorderly 
scheme  of  interference,  a  general  plan  of  annoyance. 
The  peace  table  has  been  without  a  north  star.  It  has 
steered  without  a  compass.  It  has  been  without  a  definite 
objective.  It  has  been  at  sea,  adrift,  so  far  as  a  policy 
toward  Russia  is  concerned. 

At  first  we  were  told  that  the  Allies  would  intervene 
and  save  the  Russians  from  the  rule  of  violence  imposed 

215 


2i6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

by  the  "Red"  Army  under  the  command  of  Lenin  and 
Trotzky.  The  Allies  did  not  intervene;  they  did  worse, 
they  intermeddled.  Worst  of  all,  the  Allied  governments 
failed  to  keep  the  public  fully  and  frankly  advised  as  to 
what  the  Bolsheviki  were  doing  and  planning.  The 
masses  in  ignorance  of  the  real  meaning  and  purposes  of 
the  Bolshevist  government,  not  having  been  shown  that  it 
was  a  government  of  a  small  minority,  that  it  was  built 
on  force,  that  the  rule  of  might  prevailed,  that  violence 
was  the  law,  that  terror  was  the  order,  that  a  dictator 
was  the  ruler,  turned  to  the  thought  that  the  Soviet  gov- 
ernment was  the  beginning  of  the  changed  order  for 
which  they  had  been  looking  and  working. 

Pretended  saviors  arose  in  Russia,  Denikin,  Kolchak, 
Petura  and  Yudenich.  These  men  were  heralded  in  the 
Allied  press  as  patriots,  seeking  to  deliver  the  Russians 
from  the  yoke  of  violence  and  autocracy  fastened  on 
them  by  Lenin  and  Trotzky.  While  the  Allied  govern- 
ments did  not  openly  and  officially  favor  these  counter- 
revolutionary movements  in  Russia,  they  furnished  arms 
and  money  for  these  uprisings.  The  phrase  "self -deter- 
mination" had  been  gradually  taking  root  in  the  minds 
of  the  people.  No  phrase  in  our  time  has  so  seized  upon 
the  thought  of  the  world.  Here  was  a  violation  of  the 
fundamental  meaning  of  the  message  America  gave  to 
the  world  through  President  Wilson  and  which  the  Al- 
lies adopted  as  their  promise  to  the  world. 

Then  came  stories  that  some  of  these  "White  Hopes'* 
were  brigands,  adventurers,  reactionaries.  The  only  rea- 
son that  could  be  offered  for  the  Allies'  giving  support 


INTERMEDDLING  IN  RUSSIA  217 

to  these  revolutionaries  was  that  they  were  against  the 
Bolsheviki.  Being  against  the  Bolsheviki  did  not  consti- 
tute a  good  and  sufficient  reason  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  world. 

Gradually  the  public  learned  that  Admiral  Kolchalc 
was  a  reactionary.'  It  leaked  out  that  he  was  surrounded 
and  supported  by  the  favorites  of  the  old  regime ;  that  his 
object  was  to  reestablish  the  rule  of  the  nobility  in  Rus- 
sia. Reports  showed  that  his  aids  were  the  Cossack 
generals,  Semenoff,  Kalminkoff,  and  Rozonoff,  The 
world  knew  of  these  Cossack  generals.  They  were  for- 
merly a  part  of  the  Czar's  terrorists.  Now  that  the  Czar 
was  dead  and  they  were  no  longer  on  his  payroll  they  had 
become  mercenaries,  and  had  seized  upon  the  revolution 
as  an  opportunity  to  loot  and  pillage.  From  American! 
soldiers  (part  of  our  expeditionary  forces  in  Siberia) 
I  learned  that  while  the  Russians  in  Siberia  were  opposed 
to  Bolshevist  violence  and  Soviet  rule,  they  were  even 
more  bitterly  opposed  to  a  government  headed  by  these 
hated  Cossack  generals.  The  British  government  gave 
special  aid  to  Kolchak,  while  privately  and  secretly  Lloyd 
George  admitted  that  Kolchak  was  a  reactionary.  On 
January  16,  1919,  at  a  conference  of  the  Allied  leaders  in 
Paris,  the  official  minutes  of  the  conversations  report  that 
Lloyd  George  said : 

Moreover,  from  information  received,  it  would  appear 
that  Kolchak  had  been  collecting  members  bi  the  old  regime 
around  him  and  would  seem  to  be  at  heart  a  monarchist.  It 
appeared  that  the  Czecho-SIovaks  were  finding  this  out.  The 
sympathies  of  the  Czecho-SIovaks  are  very  democratic  and. 


2i8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

they  had  not  been  at  all  prepared  to  fight  for  the  restoration 
of  old  conditions  in  Russia. 

The  Paris  conference  declared  that  8,000  American 
soldiers  and  an  equal  number  of  Japanese  soldiers  should 
enter  Siberia  for  the  purpose  of  saving  the  Trans-Sibe- 
rian Railway.  This  military  occupation  was  not  given 
authority  to  loot,  nor  was  it  authorized  to  enter  Siberia 
for  the  purpose  of  conquest.  When  Major  General 
Graves  led  the  American  Expeditionary  Force  into  Sibe- 
ria he  found  the  Japanese  army  there  in  great  numbers. 
Instead  of  the  8,000  authorized  by  the  Paris  conference, 
Japan  had  nearly  70,000  soldiers  in  Siberia.  It  was 
understood  that  the  use  of  the  railroads  by  the  Amer- 
ican and  Japanese  military  should  be  confined  to  military 
uses  alone.  The  truth  is  the  Japanese  used  the  railways 
to  carry  out  spoils.  Japan  has  been  penetrating  Siberia. 
Siberia  is  rich  in  gold,  platinum,  timber,  furs,  bristles, 
coal,  and  salt.  Generals  Rozonoff,  Semenofif,  and  Kal- 
minkoff  have  been  betraying  and  peddling  their  country 
to  the  yellow  masters  of  the  Far  East.  We  will  have  to 
reckon  with  Japan's  boldness  and  ambition.  The  Allies 
gave  courage  to  her  effrontery  when  they  turned  Shan- 
tung and  40,000,000  Chinese  over  to  Japan.  Shantung 
is  the  commercial  heart  of  China ;  it  is,  as  well,  its  soul. 
It  is  the  cradle  of  her  great  prophet,  Confucius.  The 
ex-Kaiser,  through  a  friendly  compact  with  the  late  Czar 
Nicholas,  seized  Shantung.  When  the  World  War  came, 
Japan  sat  on  the  fence.  France  and  England  urged  her 
to  go  in  with  the  AlHes.    She  did,  but  only  after  she  had 


INTERMEDDLING  IN  RUSSIA  219 

received  her  price.  By  private  agreements  with  France 
and  England,  German  rights  (truth  would  have  written 
them  German  wrongs)  in  Shantung  were  turned  over  to 
Japan.  This  betrayal  of  China's  freedom  was  made  in 
secret.  America  was  kept  in  the  dark  as  to  the  arrange- 
ment, Balfour  came  to  America  and  told  us  many 
things,  but  nothing  about  this  secret  compact.  We  in- 
duced China  to  cast  her  lot  with  the  Allies.  All  China 
asked  was  that  when  Germany  was  conquered  and  driven 
out  of  Shantung,  that  China  be  given  back  her  own, 
Shantung.  When  the  war  ended  President  Wilson  in 
Paris  sought  to  restore  Shantung  to  China.  Japan  ob- 
jected and  presented  her  claim.  She  based  it  on  the 
secret  agreement  with  England  and  France.  For  the 
first  time  America  learned  of  this  secret  bargain.  Fin- 
ally and  unfortunately  we  consented  to  give  Japan  the 
determination  of  Shantung,  We  struck  the  word  "self" 
out  of  the  phrase  "self-determination."  No  single  act 
has  so  shocked  the  world  as  this  deal. 

Let  America  take  her  troops  out  of  Siberia;  let  us 
leave  Russia  alone.  She  will  find  herself  sooner  if  we 
do.  Let  us  stop  encouraging  Denikins,  Yudenichs,  Pe- 
turas,  and  Kolchaks.  Let  us  by  our  policy  convince  the 
Russian  people  and  the  world  that  we  believe  in  self- 
determination  and  that  we  want  the  Russian  people  to 
have  a  chance  to  solve  their  own  problem.  With  the  end 
of  revolutionary  movements  in  Russia,  one  reason  for 
the  existence  of  the  "Red"  Army  will  disappear.  The 
majority  in  Russia  want  a  free,  democratic  government. 
They  will  get  it  if  they  are  left  to  themselves. 


220  THE  NEW  WORLD 

I  asked  two  important  Slav  leaders  for  their  opinion 
as  to  the  policy  the  world  should  adopt  toward  the  Bol- 
sheviki  and  the  Russian  problem.  In  Prague  I  spoke  to 
President  Mazayrik  of  Czecho-Slovakia ;  in  Warsaw  I 
interviewed  General  Pilsudski,  Provisional  President  of 
Poland.  Both  answered  the  question  in  practically  the 
same  words:  "Let  Russia  alone;  let  the  Russian  people 
solve  the  Russian  question." 

AN  INSINCERE  PEACE  PROPOSAL 

From  Soviet  Russia  comes  a  plea  for  peace;  it  comes 
from  the  same  lips  that  promised  the  Russian  people  a 
constitutional  convention  and  later  broke  their  faith  with 
the  people  by  dissolving  the  popular  assembly  with  the 
bayonets  of  the  "Red"  Army.  Now,  the  Bolshevist  gov- 
ernment extends  one  hand  to  the  world  and  asks  fellow- 
ship in  the  family  of  nations  while  the  other  hand,  con- 
cealed behind  its  back,  holds  a  dagger.  This  is 
the  same  dictatorship  that  began  its  rule  by  decreeing 
grand  larceny  and  confiscation  and  for  two  and 
one-half  years  has  terrorized  Russia.  It  is  the  same 
Soviet  Russia  that  called  the  Third  International 
and  sent  forth  its  clarion  cry  to  the  workers  of  the 
world  to  unite  and  disarm  the  bourgeoisie,  com- 
manding the  workers  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  the 
ballot  and  use  force  in  open  battle  against  all  organ- 
ized authority.  The  same  Lenin  and  Trotzky  are  at  the 
helm,  who  scoff  at  moral  obligations,  who  justify  terror 
and  murder  by  pronouncing  these  criminal  acts  "a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  world  revolution."    The  peace  proposal 


INTERMEDDLING  IN  RUSSIA  221 

is  not  made  in  good  faith.  It  is  an  intrigue,  a  device  of 
cunning,  calculated  to  throw  the  world  ofif  guard  and  to 
give  the  forces  of  disorder  more  time  for  organization; 
to  create  a  respite  for  the  Russian  "Red"  Army  until  a 
more  favorable  hour  arrives  for  a  blow  against  the  peace 
and  freedom  of  the  world. 

When  the  Bolsheviki  say  they  want  peace  and  give 
assurances,  that  they  wish  simply  to  be  let  alone  in  order 
to  work  out  their  experiment  in  Russia,  such  offers  to 
compromise  are,  it  has  been  shown,  purely  tactical. 
After  the  expulsion  of  the  Bolshevist  Ambassador  Joffre 
from  Berlin,  Cliecherin  boasted  of  the  millions  of  rubles 
taken  to  Russia  for  propaganda  purposes.^ 

Another  illustration  of  the  "scrap  of  paper"  attitude 
of  the  Bolsheviki  toward  treaties  is  contained  in  a  signed 
article  ^  on  revolutionary  methods  in  which  Joffre  says : 

Having  accepted  this  forcibly  imposed  treaty  (the  Brest- 
Litovsk  Treaty),  revolutionary  Russia  of  course  had  to 
accept  its  second  article,  which  forbade  any  agitation 
against  the  state  and  military  institutions  of  Germany.  But 
both  the  Russian  government  as  a  whole  and  its  accredited 
representatives  in  Berlin  never  concealed  the  fact  that  they 
were  not  observing  this  article  and  did  not  intend  to  do  so. 

That  the  Bolsheviki  are  playing  an  international  game 

aimed  at  the  subversion  of  all  governments,  is  disclosed 

by  the  avowed  tactics  of  their  foreign  policy.     In  his 

Peace  Program  published  at  Petrograd  February,  1918, 

Trotzky  says: 

^  Official    note   to    German   Foreign    Office    in    "Zrostri,"   De- 
cember  28,    1 918. 
'  Izvestia,  January  i,  1919. 


222  THE  NEW  WORLD 

If  in  awaking  the  imminent  proletarian  flood  in  Russia, 
Russia  should  be  forced  to  conclude  peace  with  the  present- 
day  governments  of  the  Central  Powers,  it  would  be  a 
provisional,  temporary,  and  transitory  peace,  with  the  revi- 
sion of  which  the  European  revolution  will  have  to  concern 
itself  in  the  first  instance,    our  whole  policy  is  built  upon 

THE   expectation   OF   THIS   REVOLUTION. 

It  is  well  to  recall  the  total  lack  of  moral  sense  shown 
by  the  Bolsheviki  in  their  dealings  not  only  with  the 
people  of  Russia  but  with  the  world.  They  are  bold  and 
shameless  in  their  double-dealing.  Zinoviov,  President 
of  the  Petrograd  Soviet,  in  a  speech  delivered  February 
2,  1 91 9,  on  the  Prinkopo  Island  proposal  said: 

We  are  willing  to  sign  an  unfavorable  peace  with  the 
Allies.  .  .  It  would  only  mean  that  we  should  put  no  trust 
whatever  in  the  bit  of  paper  we  sign.  We  should  use  the 
breathing  space  so  obtained  in  order  to  gather  our  strength, 
in  order  that  the  mere  continued  existence  of  our  govern- 
ment would  keep  up  the  world-wide  propaganda  which  So- 
viet Russia  has  been  carrying  on  for  more  than  a  year. 

The  Seventh  All-Russian  Congress  met  in  Moscow  in 
December,  1919.     Trotzky  reported  to  the  Congress: 

If  one  speaks  of  the  conclusion  of  peace  within  the  next 
month,  such  a^peace  cannot  be  called  a  permanent  peace. 
So  long  as  class  states  remain  as  powerful  centers  of  im- 
perialism in  Europe  and  America,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
the  peace  which  we  shall  perhaps  conclude  in  the  near 
future  will  be  for  us  only  one  long  and  prolonged  respite. 
So  long  as  this  possibility  is  not  excluded,  it  is  possible  that 
it  will  be  a  matter  not  of  disarming  but  of  altering  the  form 
of  the  armed  forces  of  the  state.  We  must  pass  to  the 
militia  system  of  armed  forces. 


INTERMEDDLING  IN  RUSSIA  223 

Trotzky's  report  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  Con- 
gress without  debate. 

Theoretically,  the  All-Russian  Congress  is  the  supreme 
power  of  the  Soviet  government;  at  least,  the  constitu- 
tion declares  that  it  is.  It  would  seem  that  the  action  of 
this  Congress  fixes  the  policy  of  the  Soviet  government. 
If  anything  can  be  binding  on  Lenin  and  Trotzky,  the 
action  of  the  Congress  is.  Then,  too,  the  Congress  only 
indorsed  the  policy  advocated  by  Trotzky. 

About  a  month  after  Trotzky's  report,  proposals  of 
peace,  requests  for  recognition,  were  sent  to  the  world  by 
the  Bolsheviki.  If  we  consider  these  proposals  and  re- 
quests in  the  light  of  the  foregoing  resolution,  it  is  ap- 
parent that  Lenin  and  Trotzky  are  acting  in  bad  faith, 
and  the  only  inference  possible  is  that  the  Soviet  gov- 
ernment seeks  time  for  further  preparation. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Have  we  Bolshevism  in  the  United  States? 

Is  it  organized? 

Is  its  object  the  overthrow  of  the  government  by  force 
and  violence? 

Who  are  the  Bolsheviki? 

Have  they  a  plan  of  revolution? 

These  questions  are  in  the  daily  thought  of  the  Amer- 
ican people.  The  time  has  come  to  face  the  facts.  If 
Bolshevism  in  the  United  States  is  a  myth,  we  should 
know  it  and  dismiss  it  from  our  thoughts.  If  it  is  real, 
then  we  should  be  prepared  to  meet  it.  Prevention  is 
better  than  cure.  Such  a  course  saves  blood  and  the 
other  ugly  evils  which  attend  revolutions. 

Bolshevism  and  socialism,  as  we  knew  the  latter  before 
the  war,  had  one  meaning  in  common,  both  were  for 
communism,  but  Bolshevism  seeks  to  realize  its  end 
by  force  and  violence,  while  socialism  sought  the  bring- 
ing about  of  the  socialist  state  by  the  ballot,  by  parlia- 
mentary methods.  Bolshevism  is  revolutionary.  It 
preaches  and  practices  its  doctrine,  force.  Russia  is 
the  proof;  Lenin,  Trotzky,  and  the  "Red  Guard"  the 
witnesses.     Socialism  has  been  evolutionary.     The  dif- 

224 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    225 

ference  between  these  two  "isms"  is  not  in  objective,  but 
in  program,  the  method  of  reaching  the  objective. 

The  Socialist  Party  in  the  United  States  had  a  definite 
plan.  It  advocated  a  series  of  distinct  steps  as  a  means 
to  the  final  goal,  complete  communism.  Its  propaganda 
urged  the  reformation  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  by  peaceful  methods.  It  was  a  political  party  in 
the  sense  that  it  had  its  platform,  nominated  candidates 
for  office,  and  waged  a  campaign  of  education  to  secure 
their  election.  It  was  as  legitimate  as  any  other  party. 
It  was  acting  under  the  constitution ;  while  it  sought  com- 
pletely to  change  the  government  of  the  United  States,  it 
sought  to  accomplish  this  aim  by  securing  the  votes  of 
the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the  Republic.  Socialism, 
whether  it  is  good  or  evil,  coming  at  the  express  wish  of 
the  majority  would  be  "a  government  of  the  people,  for 
the  people  and  by  the  people."  It  would  be  government 
"by  the  consent  of  the  governed." 

Bolshevism  is  an  outlaw.  Bolshevism  in  the  United 
States  is  criminal.  The  Bolsheviki  in  the  United  States 
advocate  the  bringing  about  of  communism  by  force, 
revolution.  A  party  advocating  the  use  of  force  to 
change  the  government  of  the  United  States  admits  that 
it  is  a  minority  party.  We  can  have  government  only  by 
the  minority  or  by  the  majority,  and  it  is  plain  that  of  the 
two,  the  nearest  approach  to  freedom  is  by  the  majority 
of  the  people.  A  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  can  change  the  form  of  government  at  their  will. 
The  Constitution  provides  an  orderly,  peaceful  method 
of  changing  the  form  of  government.    It  is  true  that  the 


226  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Constitution  wisely  places  certain  checks  upon  the  proce- 
dure so  that  sweeping  fundamental  changes  in  our  gov- 
ernment cannot  be  brought  about  in  haste.  The  fathers 
of  the  RepubHc  understood  the  dangers  of  rash  action, 
but  radical  and  fundamental  changes  can  be  made  as  is 
shown  by  the  eighteen  changes  called  Constitutional 
Amendments  that  have  been  made  in  our  government  in 
its  life  of  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Recently 
two  changes  have  been  made,  both  of  which  are  vital 
changes  in  the  law  of  the  land.  I  refer  to  the  amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  providing  for  the  election  of 
United  States  senators  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  people 
and  the  new  constitutional  provision  abolishing  the  liquor 
traffic.  Whether  one  agrees  with  either  or  both  of  these 
recent  changes  in  our  form  of  government,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  they  are  the  law  of  the  land  by  virtue  of 
the  will  of  the  people.  Sane  men  do  not  use  force  to 
accomplish  an  aim  which  can  be  secured  without  the  use 
of  force.  There  can  be  only  one  reason  for  urging  the 
use  of  force  as  a  means  of  changing  or  overthrowing 
the  government  and  that  is  that  the  proponents  of  the 
change  are  in  the  minority  and  as  a  consequence  cannot 
accomplish  their  desire  through  the  ballot. 

The  plan  of  the  Socialist  Party  in  the  United  States 
was  to  advocate  municipal  ownership  of  public  utilities 
and  the  governmental  ownership  of  the  railroads  and 
mines.  This  was  the  opening  wedge.  It  did  not  sponsor 
these  reforms  as  remedies  for  existing  conditions,  but 
favored  them  as  a  step  toward  communism.  The  Social- 
ists argued  that  the  success  of  municipal  and  national 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    227 

ownership  of  public  utilities  would  point  the  way  toward 
government  ownership  of  everything — communism.  They 
preached  that  these  victories  for  common  ownership 
would  give  the  people  a  chance  to  see  the  practical  suc- 
cess of  governmental  ownership,  even  more  that  each 
city  adopting  municipal  ownership  would  be  territory  ac- 
quired, a  "Red"  dot  on  the  map.  Government  ownership 
of  the  railroads  and  the  nationalization  of  the  mines 
would  extend  socialism  and  consolidate  and  organize  the 
victories  in  the  cities.  It  would  show  the  feasibility  of 
government  ownership  on  a  large  scale.  The  Socialists 
were  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  transportation  and 
power  are  the  two  great  forces  in  industrial  life.  All 
industry,  all  business,  depend  upon  coal,  power,  and 
transportation.  Without  the  cooperation  of  these  two 
essentials,  privately  owned  industry  could  not  function. 

But  the  war  changed  the  socialist  creed.  A  new  ma- 
jority arose  in  the  Socialist  Party.  It  was  impatient  with 
the  socialism  I  have  described.  It  marked  the  old  social- 
ism as  reactionary  and  referred  to  the  dominant  social- 
ism before  the  war  as  "moderate  socialism." 

The  radicals  in  the  Socialist  Party,  called  the  members 
of  the  Left  Wing,  were  moved  to  action  by  the  happen- 
ings in  Russia.  Everywhere  in  their  creed,  platforms, 
programs  and  methods  one  can  see  the  direct  influence 
of  the  Bolshevism  of  Russia.  In  fact,  as  we  shall  see, 
the  entire  plan  of  the  new  radicalism  in  America  is  iden- 
tical with  the  plan  of  Russian  Bolshevism.  Even  the 
same  words  are  used,  so  fearful  are  the  American  Bol- 
sheviki  that   they  will  lose   something  of   the   Russian 


228  THE  NEW  WORLD 

program  if  they  set  it  forth  in  any  terms  except  the  orig- 
inal. 

The  first  evidence  that  the  seed  of  Bolshevism  had 
sprouted  in  the  United  States  was  the  organization  on 
November  7,  1918,  of  a  Communist  Propaganda  League 
and  the  appearance  of  a  publication,  The  Revolutionary 
Age.  This  little  group  sounded  the  call  to  arms,  declar- 
ing that  their  first  battle  must  be  with  the  reactionary 
Socialists,  who  controlled  the  Socialist  Party  of  the 
United  States.  In  February,  1919,  the  foreign  language 
branches  and  a  few  of  the  English  speaking  branches  of 
the  Socialist  Party  issued  a  Manifesto.  In  its  first  proc- 
lamation the  Left  Wing  of  the  Socialist  Party  advocated 
the  overthrow  of  our  government  by  force. 

Revolutionary  Socialists  hold,  with  the  founders  of  Scien- 
tific Socialism,  that  there  are  two  dominant  classes  in  society, 
the  bourgeoisie  (middle  class),  and  the  proletariat  (un- 
skilled laborers,  who  own  no  property).  Between  these  two 
classes  a  struggle  must  go  on,  until  the  working  class 
through  the  seizure  of  the  instruments  of  production  and 
distribution,  the  abolition  of  the  capitalist  state,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat,  creates  a 
socialist  system.  Revolutionary  Socialists  do  not  believe  that 
they  can  be  voted  into  power.  They  struggle  for  the  con- 
quest of  power  by  the  revolutionary  proletariat. 

In  the  above  extract  from  the  First  Left  Wing  Mani- 
festo of  the  Socialists  of  the  United  States,  it  is  plain 
that  they  propose  to  seize  industry  and  establish  a  dicta- 
torship of  the  proletariat.  They  openly  avow  that  they 
have  no  faith  in  the  ballot.    Their  belief  is  in  revolution. 

Speaking  of  the  class  struggle,  this  Manifesto  says : 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    229 

We  assert  with  Marx  that  the  "class  struggle  is  essen- 
tially a  political  struggle,"  and  we  can  only  accept  his  oft 
repeated  interpretation  of  the  phrase.  The  class  struggle, 
whether  it  manifests  itself  on  the  industrial  field  or  in  the 
direct  struggle  for  governmental  control  is  essentially  a 
struggle  for  the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  capitalist 
state.  This  is  a  political  act.  In  this  broader  view  of  the 
term  "political,"  Marx  includes  revolutionary  industrial 
action,  in  the  sense  that  it  aims  to  undermine  the  bourgeois 
state,  which  "is  nothing  less  than  a  machine  for  the  oppres- 
sion of  one  class  by  another,  and  that  no  less  so  in  a  demo- 
cratic-republic than  under  a  monarchy." 

Marx  programmed  socialism;  he  is  the  great  high 
priest  of  Communism.  The  platforms'  and  programs,  the 
manifestoes  and  pamphlets  of  the  Communists  in  the 
United  States  abound  in  quotations  from  Marx.  It  is 
fair  to  accept  Karl  Marx  as  the  interpreter,  and  in  the 
above  extract  from  the  First  Left  Wing  Manifesto,  we 
have  light  on  the  meaning  of  the  word  "political,"  as 
used  by  the  Communists.  To  them  political  action  does 
not  mean  voting.  It  hasn't  the  same  meaning  to  the 
Communists  that  we  generally  have  in  mind  when  we 
use  the  word.  Marx  has  given  the  word  "political"  a 
broader  meaning,  saying  that  it  includes  "revolutionary 
industrial  action"  and  Marx  goes  on  to  say  that  the  object 
of  "revolutionary  industrial  action"  is  to  capture  and  de- 
stroy the  capitalistic  state.  According  to  every  Socialist, 
the  government  of  the  United  States  of  America  is  a 
"capitalistic  state."  When  we  read  the  words  "capital- 
istic state,"  "bourgeois  government,"  "imperialistic 
state,"  we  know  that  the  government  of  the  United  States 


230  THE  NEW  WORLD 

is  meant.  They  have  said  so,  not  once  but  thousands 
of  times ;  not  one  but  all  of  them. 

The  National  Executive  Committee  of  the  Socialist 
Party  met  in  Qiicago  on  May  24,  1919.  The  Committee 
was  under  fire,  the  Left  Wingers  were  making  a  desper- 
ate fight  to  capture  the  machinery  of  the  Party.  The 
members  of  the  Executive  Committee  were  being  assailed 
as  traitors  to  the  "cause,"  They  were  charged  with  hav- 
ing sold  out  the  "Internationalists,"  The  Executive 
Committee,  meeting  in  Chicago,  decided  to  purge  itself 
of  the  Left  Wing  radicals  and  expelled  from  member- 
ship about  40,000  members.  This  action  caused  the  Left 
Wing  to  issue  a  call  on  May  31,  1919,  for  delegates  to 
attend  a  National  Left  Wing  Convention  to  be  held  in 
New  York  City  on  June  21. 

The  Left  Wing  Conference  met.  The  delegates  repre- 
sented over  50,000  members.  This  Convention  carefully 
prepared  a  Manifesto  and  a  program.  In  it  they  an- 
nounced the  policy  and  plans  of  the  new  socialism  in  the 
United  States,  later  known  as  the  Communist  Party, 
and  the  Communist  Labor  Party. 

No  man  can  faithfully  serve  two  masters,  and  no  hon- 
est man  tries  to  do  so.  Neither  can  a  citizen  of  the  Re- 
public be  loyal  to  the  nation  and  give  his  allegiance  to  the 
Third  International.  When  a  man  applies  for  citizenship 
in  the  United  States,  the  first  thing  we  do  is  to  make 
him  forswear  his  allegiance  to  his  fatherland. 

As  the  corner  stone  of  the  Left  Wing  program,  the  Con- 
vention wrote : 
We  favor  international  alliance  of  the  socialist  movement 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    231 

of  the  United  States  only  with  the  communist  groups  of 
other  countries,  such  as  the  Bolsheviki  of  Russia,  Sparticists 
of  Germany,  etc. 

We  are  opposed  to  association  with  other  groups,  not  com- 
mitted to  the  revolutionary  class  struggle,  such  as  Labor 
Parties,  Non-partisan  Leagues,  People's  Councils,  Municipal 
Ownership  Leagues  and  the  like. 

The  Left  Wingers  not  only  stripped  themselves  of  their 
citizenship  in  the  United  States  but  they  declared  war 
upon  the  government  of  the  United  States  by  adopting 
the  Moscow  Manifesto  and  pledging  their  undivided  de- 
votion to  its  principles.  By  this  act  they  promised  to 
arouse  "the  proletariat  to  make  use  of  the  means  of  bat- 
tle, which  will  concentrate  its  entire  energies,  namely, 
mass  action,  with  its  logical  resultant,  direct  conflict  witH 
the  governmental  machinery  in  open  combat." 

The  above  quotation  is  the  language  of  the  Moscow 
Manifesto  and  to  this  object  they  gave  allegiance.  Could 
English  be  plainer,  the  meaning  bristles  out  of  the  words 
— mass  action,  direct  conflict  of  the  governmental  ma- 
chiner}-  in  open  combat,  the  use  of  the  m^ans  of  battle. 

The  Left  Wing  Manifesto  declares  that  the  new  social- 
ism is  a  world  movement.    It  says : 

The  predatory  "war  for  democracy"  dominated  the  world. 
But  now  it  is  the  revolutionary  proletariat  in  action  that 
dominates,  conquering  power  in  some  nations,  mobilizing  to 
conquer  power  in  others  and  calling  upon  the  proletariat  of 
all  nations  to  prepare  for  a  final  struggle  against  capitalism. 
Russia  is  the  one  country  in  which  the  revolutionary  prole- 
tariat have  conquered  and  destroyed  the  state.  The  Left 
Wing  was  the  first  mobilization  camp  in  the  United  States 


232  THE  NEW  WORLD 

organized  for  the  purpose  of  conquering  the  power  of  the 
American  government. 

There  can  now  be  only  the  socialism  which  is  one  in 
temper  and  in  purpose  with  the  proletarian  revolutionary 
struggle.  There  can  be  only  the  socialism  which  unites  the 
proletariat  of  the  whole  world  in  the  general  struggle  against 
the  desperately  destructive  imperialisms — the  imperialisms 
which  array  themselves  as  a  single  force  against  the  on- 
sweeping  proletarian  revolution. 

And  the  revolutionary  struggle  is  now.  It  is  to  follow 
Lenin  and  Trotzky's  plan  as  outlined  in  the  Third  Inter- 
national. The  Left  Wing  Manifesto  makes  this  clear  in 
the  following  language: 

The  revolutionary  epoch  of  the  final  struggle  against  cap- 
italism may  last  for  years  and  tens  of  years;  but  the  Com- 
munist International  offers  a  policy  and  program  imme- 
diate and  ultimate  in  scope,  that  provides  for  the  immediate 
class  struggle,  against  capitalism,  in  its  revolutionary  impli- 
cations, and  for  the  final  act  of  the  conquest  of  power. 

The  Left  Wingers  charge  that  the  World  War  was  a 
war  of  imperialism  and  "unjustifiable  on  any  pretext  of 
national  interest"  and  that  "the  dominant  socialism  ac- 
cepted and  justified  the  \var."  They  insist  that  true  so- 
cialism is  international  and  has  no  obligation  to  national 
allegiance.  Loyalty  to  any  flag  except  the  "Red"  flag. 
Left  Wingers  claim  is  a  betrayal  of  the  proletariat.  In 
the  Left  Wing  Manifesto  we  learn: 

Great  demonstrations  were  held.  The  governments  and 
war  were  denounced,  but  immediately  upon  the  declaration 
of  war  there   was  a  change  of  front.     War  credits  were 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    233- 

voted  by  socialists  in  the  parliaments.  The  dominant  social- 
ism favored  the  war,  a  small  minority  adopted  a  petty  bour- 
geois pacifism,  and  only  the  Left  Wing  groups  adhered  to 
the  policy  of  revolutionary  socialism. 

The  dominant  socialism,  in  accepting  and  justifying  the 
war,  abandoned  the  class  struggle  and  betrayed  socialism. 
The  class  struggle  is  the  heart  of  socialism.  Without  strict 
conformity  to  the  class  struggle,  in  its  revolutionary  implica- 
tions, socialism  becomes  either  sheer  Utopianism,  or  a 
method  of  reaction.  But  the  dominant  socialism  accepted 
"civil  peace,"  the  "unity  of  all  the  classes  and  parties"  in 
order  to  wage  successfully  the  imperialistic  war.  The  dom- 
inant socialism  united  with  the  government  against  social- 
ism and  the  Proletariat. 

The  Left  Wingers  have  broken  with  socialism  be- 
cause moderate  socialism  did  not  stand  in  the  way  of 
national  unity  during-  the  war.  It  is  written  in  this  Man- 
ifesto that  "it  is  precisely  during  the  war  that  material 
conditions  provide  the  opportunity  for  waging  the  class 
struggle  to  a  conclusion  for  the  conquest  of  power."  It 
wall  be  remembered  that  Lenin  frequently  spoke  of 
changing  the  World  War  into  a  civil  war.  In  other 
words,  this  new  radical  movement  is  the  enemy  of  mod- 
erate socialism  because  it  did  not  play  the  role  of  Judas 
and  strike  the  warring  governments  in  the  back.  It  is 
plain  that  the  World  War  offered  an  opportunity  for  such 
dastardly  cowardice.  The  Manifesto  denounces  mod- 
erate socialism  which  it  sometimes  refers  to  as  "domi- 
nant socialism"  for  not  turning  the  "imperialistic  war 
into  a  civil  war,"  and  charges  these  "reactionary  social- 


234  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ists"  with  forgetting  the  Paris  Commune  and  the  Rus- 
sian Revolution  of  1905. 

The  Manifesto  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  domi- 
nant socialism  tries  to  defend  its  "acceptance  of  the  war 
on  the  plea  that  a  revolution  did  not  materialize,  that 
the  masses  abandoned  socialism." 

To  this  plea  the  Manifesto  makes  this  answer: 

This  was  conscious  subterfuge.  When  the  economic  and 
political  crisis  did  develop  potential  revolutionary  action  in 
the  proletariat,  the  dominant  socialism  immediately  assumed 
an  attitude  against  the  revolution.  The  proletariat  was 
urged  NOT  to  make  a  revolution.  The  dominant  socialism 
united  with  the  capitalistic  governments  to  prevent  a  Revo- 
lution. 

Bringing  the  charge  home  to  the  then  Socialist  Party 
in  the  United  States  the  Manifesto  says : 

The  war  and  the  Russian  proletarian  revolution  in  Russia 
provided  the  opportunity.  The  Socialist  Party,  under  the 
impulse  of  its  membership,  adopted  a  militant  declaration 
against  the  war.  But  the  officials  of  the  party  sabotaged 
this  declaration.  The  official  policy  of  the  party  on  the  war 
was  a  policy  of  petty  bourgeois  pacifism. 

This  policy  necessarily  developed  into  a  repudiation 
of  the  revolutionary  socialist  position. 

Does  this  sound  like  treason?  These  Left  Wingers 
assail  the  officials  of  the  Socialist  Party  for  only  betray- 
ing the  country  in  the  war  hour  to  the  extent  of  being 
pacifists.  They  are  condemned  for  not  going  the  limit. 
They  should  have  become  mtlitanf.  Militant  is  defined 
in  the  dictionary  to  be  "Fighting,  warring,  engaging  in 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     235 

warfare."  This  should  have  been  their  conduct  toward 
the  nation  during  the  war. 

Moderate  sociahsm  is  criticized  and  condemned  for 
having  as  its  goal  "constructive  reforms,"  "cooperation 
with  other  classes,"  and  for  declaring  "that  the  coming 
of  socialism  was  the  concern  of  all  the  classes," 
instead  of  emphasizing  the  Marxian  policy  that  the 
construction  of  the  socialist  system  is  the  task  of  the  re- 
volutionary proletariat  alone.  In  "accepting  social 
reformism,"  "cooperation  of  the  classes,"  and  the  bour- 
geois parliamentary  state  as  the  basis  of  its  action,  mod- 
erate socialism  was  prepared  to  share  responsibility  with 
the  bourgeoisie  in  the  control  of  the  capitalist  state  even 
to  the  extent  of  defending  the  bourgeoisie  against  the 
working  class  and  its  revolutionary  mass  movement. 

The  Manifesto  expressly  condemns  faith  in  orderly 
peaceful  methods  to  attain  communism  and  declares  "the 
dominant  socialism  developed  a  policy  of  legislative  re- 
forms ....  making  a  revolutionary  class  struggle 
a  parliamentary  process.  This  development  meant  ob- 
viously the  abandonment  of  fundamental  socialism.  It 
meant  working  on  the  basis  of  the  bourgeois  parliamen- 
tary state,  instead  of  the  struggle  to  destroy  that  state; 
it  meant  the  "cooperation  of  classes"  for  state  capitalism, 
instead  of  the  uncompromising  proletarian  struggle. 
Government  ownership,  the  objective  of  the  middle  class, 
was  the  policy  of  moderate  socialism.  Instead  of  a  revo- 
lutionary theory  of  the  necessity  of  conquering  capital- 
ism, the  official  theory  and  practice  was  now  that  of 


236  THE  NEW  WORLD 

modifying  capitalism,  of  a  gradual  peaceful  "growing 
into  socialism  by  means  of  legislative  reforms." 

Surely  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  revolutionary  so- 
cialists have  failed  to  make  clear  their  decision  to  use 
force.  They  have  not  only  said  so  but  they  condemn 
moderate  socialism  for  advocating  "a  peaceful  growing 
into  socialism  by  means  of  legislative  reforms." 

Commenting  upon  the  effect  of  the  policy  of  the  mod- 
erate socialists  the  Left  Wingers  say: 

What  the  parliamentary  policy  of  the  dominant  socialism 
accomplished  was  to  buttress  the  capitalist  state,  to  promote 
capitalism,  to  strengthen  imperialism. 

And  why? 

The  dominant  socialism  based  itself  on  the  middle  class 
and  the  aristocracy  of  labor  (all  organized  labor  except  the 
I.  W.  W.)  but  these  have  compromised  with  imperialism, 
being  bribed  by  a  share  in  the  spoils  of  imperialism. 

Every  union  card  carrier  in  the  United  States  is 
charged  with  selling  his  loyalty  to  his  country  during 
the  war.  How  about  the  men  who  took  off  overalls  and 
put  on  the  uniform?  Was  he  bribed  by  a  share  in  the 
spoils.  Many  of  them  gave  up  good  paying  jobs  to 
fight  the  good  fight  and  some  never  came  back.  Were 
they,  too,  bribed?    H  this  is  not  treason  what  is? 

The  Manifesto  emphasizes  the  following  essential  dif- 
ferences between  moderate  socialism  and  itself : 

Moderate  socialism  is  compromising,  vacillating,  treacher- 
ous, because  the  social  elements  it  depends  upon — the  petite 
bourgeoisie  and  aristocracy  of  labor — are  not  a  fundamental 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     237 

factor  in  society;  they  vacillate  between  the  bourgeoisie  and 
the  proletariat,  their  social  instability  produces  political  in- 
stability; and,  moreover,  they  have  been  seduced  by  im- 
perialism and  are  now  united  with  imperialism. 

Revolutionary  socialism  is  resolute,  uncompromising, 
revolutionary,  because  it  builds  upon  a  fundamental  social 
factor.  The  industrial  proletarian  Revolutionary  socialism 
adheres  to  the  class  struggle,  because  through  the  class 
struggle  alone — the  mass  struggle — can  the  industrial  pro- 
letariat secure  immediate  concessions  and  finally  conquer 
power  by  organizing  the  industrial  government  of  the  work- 
ing class. 

The  Manifesto  declares  that  the  only  way  to  commu- 
nism is  the  Russian  road.  It  says  that  the  moderate 
socialists  "conceived  the  task  of  revolution  in  Germany 
and  Russia  to  be  the  construction  of  a  democratic  par- 
liamentary state,  after  w^hich  the  process  of  introducing 
socialism  by  legislative  reform  methods  could  be  initi- 
ated." 

This  was  the  plan  of  Kerensky  in  Russia.  He  was  as 
insistent  a  communist  as  any  one  could  be,  but  he 
favored  giving  the  people  a  chance  to  form  a  free 
government  and  to  this  end  advocated  a  convention  of 
the  representatives  of  the  Russian  people — a  constitu- 
tional convention,  sometimes  called  a  constituent  assem- 
bly. A  democratic  government  so  formed  could  by  legis- 
lation establish  communism.  This  would  be  communism 
without  a  dictator,  it  would  be  an  overthrow  of  the  form 
of  government  in  an  orderly  manner.  There  are  but  two 
ways  in  which  a  government  can  be  changed — one  is  by 
the  parliamentary  or  legislative  method,  the  other  is  by 


238  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the    extra-parliamentary    (beyond    the    scope    of    law) 
method — force. 

The  Left  Wing  Convention  made  its  choice : 

Revolutionary  socialism,  on  the  contrary,  insists  that  the 
democratic  parliamentary  state  can  never  be  the  basis  for 
the  introduction  of  socialism,  that  it  is  necessary  to  destroy 
the  parliamentary  state. 

And  to  prove  their  contention  that  force  is  the  only 
way  to  socialism  they  cite  the  case  of  Russia: 

The  proletarian  revolution  in  action  has  conclusively 
proved  that  moderate  socialism  is  incapable  of  realizing'  the 
objectives  of  socialism.  Revolutionary  socialism  alone  is 
capable  of  mobilizing  the  proletariat  for  socialism,  for  the 
conquest  of  the  power  of  the  state  by  means  of  revolution- 
ary mass  action  and  proletarian  dictatorship. 

The  Manifesto,  under  the  caption  "Political  Action," 
gives  us  the  meaning  of  the  phrase : 

The  class  struggle  is  a  political  struggle.  It  is  a  political 
struggle  in  the  sense  that  its  objective  is  political — the  over- 
throw of  the  political  organization  upon  which  capitalistic 
exploitation  depends,  and  the  introduction  of  a  new  social 
system.  The  direct  objective  is  the  conquest  by  the  pro- 
letariat of  the  power  of  the  state. 

How? 

Revolutionary  socialism  does  not  propose  to  "capture"  the 
bourgeois  parliamentary  state,  but  to  conquer  and  destroy  it. 
Revolutionary  socialism,  accordingly,  repudiates  the  policy 
of  introducing  socialism  by  means  of  legislative  measures  on 
the  basis  of  the  bourgeois  state. 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     239 

Revolutionary  socialism,  accordingly,  proposes  to  conquer 
the  power  of  the  state.  It  proposes  to  conquer  by  means  of 
political  action — political  action  in  the  revolutionary  Marx- 
ian sense,  which  does  not  mean  parliamentarism,  but  the 
class  action  of  the  proletariat  in  any  form  having  as  its 
objective  the  conquest  of  the  power  of  the  state. 

Parliamentary  action  is  only  for  propaganda  pur- 
poses; it  is  of  secondary  importance.  The  Left  Wing 
Manifesto  says: 

But  parliamentarism  cannot  conquer  the  power  of  the 
state  for  the  proletariat.  The  conquest  of  the  power  of  the 
state  is  an  extra-parliamentary  act  (an  act  above  and  be- 
yond the  law.)  It  is  accomplished  not  by  the  legislative 
representatives  of  the  proletariat  but  by  the  mass  power  of 

THE   PROLETARIAT   IN   ACTION. 

What  is  mass  action  ?  How  do  the  communists  in  the 
United  States  propose  mass  power? 

The  Left  Wing  Manifesto  answers  both  questions: 

Mass  action  starts  as  the  spontaneous  activity  of  unorgan- 
ized workers  massed  in  the  basic  industry;  its  initial  form 
is  the  mass  strike  of  the  unorganized  proletariat. 

Mass  action  is  industrial  in  its  origin;  but  its  development 
imposes  upon  it  a  political  character,  since  the  more  general 
and  conscious  mass  action  becomes,  the  more  it  antagonizes 
the  bourgeois  state,  political  mass  action. 

The  revolution  starts  with  strikes  of  protest,  developing 
into  mass  political  strikes,  and  then  into  revolutionary  mass 
action  for  the  conquest  of  the  power  of  the  state.  Mass 
action  becomes  political  in  purpose  but  extra-parliamentary 
in  form;  it  is  equally  a  process  of  revolution  and  the  revo- 
lution ITSELF  IN  operation. 

J     The  final  objective  of  mass  action  is  the  conquest  of  the 


240  THE  NEW  WORLD 

power  of  the  state,  the  annihilation  of  the  bourgeois  parlia- 
mentary state,  and  the  introduction  of  the  transition  pro- 
letarian state,  functioning  as  a  revolutionary  dictatorship  of 
the  proletariat. 

Under  the  heading  "Problems  of  American  Socialism" 
the  Manifesto  tells  of  the  task  to  which  it  has  set  itself: 

A  minor  phase  of  the  awakening  of  labor  is  the  trades 
unions  organizing  a  Labor  Party,  in  an  effort  to  conserve 
what  they  have  secured  as  a  privileged  caste.  A  Labor 
Party  is  not  the  instrument  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
working  class;  its  policy  would  in  general  be  what  is  now 
the  official  policy  of  the  Socialist  Party — reforming  capital- 
ism on  the  basis  of  the  bourgeois  parliamentary  state.  La- 
borism  is  as  much  a  danger  to  the  revolutionary  proletariat 
as  moderate,  petty  bourgeois  socialism, — the  two  being  ex- 
pressions of  an  identical  tendency  and  policy.  There  can  be 
no  compromise  either  with  laborism  or  with  the  dominant 
moderate  socialism. 

But  there  is  a  more  vital  tendency, — ^the  tendency  of  the 
workers  to  initiate  mass  strikes, — strikes  which  are  equally 
a  revolt  against  the  bureaucracy  in  the  unions  and  against 
the  employers.  These  strikes  will  constitute  the  determin- 
ing feature  of  proletarian  action  in  the  days  to  come.  Revo- 
lutionary socialism  must  use  these  mass  industrial  revolts 
to  broaden  the  strike,  to  make  it  general  and  militant ;  use 
the  strike  for  political  objectives,  and,  finally,  develop  the 
mass  political  strike  against  capitalism  and  the  state. 

Revolutionary  socialism  must  base  itself  on  the  mass 
struggles  of  the  proletariat,  engage  directly  in  these  strug- 
gles while  emphasizing  the  revolutionary  purposes  of  social- 
ism and  the  proletarian  movement.  The  mass  strikes  of 
the  American  proletariat  provide  the  material  basis  out  of 
which  to  develop  the  concepts  and  action  of  revolutionary 
•socialism. 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES     241 

Our  task  is  to  encourage  the  militant  mass  movements  in 
the  A.  F.  of  L.,  to  split  the  old  unions,  to  break  the  power  of 
unions  which  are  corrupted  by  imperialism  and  betray  the 
militant  proletariat.  The  A.  F.  of  L.,  in  its  dominant 
expression,  is  united  with  imperialism.  A  bulwark  of  re- 
action,— it  must  be  exposed  and  its  power  for  evil  broken. 

The  Manifesto  cites  two  efforts  that  failed: 

Strikes  are  developing  which  verge  on  revolutionary  ac- 
tion, and  in  which  the  suggestion  of  proletarian  dictatorship 
is  apparent,  the  strike-workers  trying  to  usurp  functions  of 
municipal  government,  as  in  Seattle  and  Winnipeg. 

The  general  strike  called  in  Winnipeg,  May  15,  1919, 
was  designed  to  overthrow  constituted  government  by- 
all  the  people  and  substitute  government  by  self-consti- 
tuted dictators.  Resolutions  adopted  by  a  convention 
of  secessionists  from  the  American  Federation  of  Labor, 
at  Calgary,  months  before  the  strike  in  Winnipeg,  clearly 
stated  the  purpose  was  to  establish  a  Soviet  government 
in  Canada. 

After  a  general  strike  of  the  fire  department,  the  high 
pressure  water  plant  employees,  the  health,  light  and 
power  departments,  telephone  operators,  postal  workers, 
employees  in  the  bakeries  and  dairies  and  delivery  men, 
workers  in  the  retail  and  wholesale  establishments  deal- 
ing in  the  necessaries  of  life,  the  General  Strike  Com- 
mittee issued  permits  allowing  bread  and  milk  deliveries 
in  limited  quantities.  The  Committee  gave  orders  limit- 
ing the  activities  of  the  police  and  assumed  the  govern- 
ment of  the  city,  which  was  the  real  purpose  of  the 
strike. 


242  THE  NEW  WORLD 

One  illustration  of  permit  to  live  government  in  Win- 
nipeg under  the  attempted  Bolshevism  is  sufficient: 

Mr.  Carruthers. 
Dear  Sir: 

Would  be  pleased  to  have  you  give  a  sufficient  supply  of 
milk  to  bearer  for  sick  wife. 

Winnipeg  Trades  and  Labor  Council. 

H.  G.  Veitch, 
Food  Commissioner. 

The  "bearer"  sought  milk  for  a  dying  wife,  and  v^^as 
refused  it  by  the  Bolshevist  employees  of  the  Crescent 
Creamery  Company,  until  he  secured  a  permit  from  the 
Food  Commissioner  of  the  General  Strike  Committee. 
The  "bearer"  got  the  permit,  but  too  late.  His  vjiit  was 
dead. 

When  the  revolutionary  strike  hit  Seattle  the  city  was 
a  closed  shop  city,  that  is,  it  was  practically  lOO  per  cent 
union  labor.  The  strike  was  without  any  cause,  the 
workers  had  no  grievance.  The  Central  Strike  Commit- 
tee sent  for  Mayor  Ole  Hanson  and  told  him  that  they 
were  going  to  take  over  the  electric  light  plant  and  that 
there  would  he  no  lights.  The  Mayor  replied,  "You 
mean  to  use  force — well  I  do,  too.  You  cannot  seize 
the  people's  property  unless  you  have  more  force  than  I 
have." 

The  strike  committee  closed  the  stores,  the  groceries, 
the  meat  markets,  the  milk  depots.  They  tried  to  starve 
the  people  into  submission.  They  tied  up  the  street  car 
systems,  called  out  the  teamsters.  A  "flu"  epidemic  was 
raging  and  the  dead  piled  up  because  the  General  Strike 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    243 

Committee  refused  to  allow  the  dead  to  be  buried  with- 
out a  permit  from  the  committee.  The  newspapers  were 
suspended.  And  what  for  ?  They  intended  to  make  the 
people  suffer  so  much  that  they  would  submit  and  turn 
the  government  of  the  city  over  to  the  workers.  It  was 
America's  first  taste  of  the  Left  Wing  program. 

I  have  given  the  detail  of  the  plan  of  the  Left  Wing 
Convention  because  this  group  in  the  Socialist  Party 
later  divided  into  the  Communist  Labor  Party  and  the 
Communist  Party,  both  of  which,  as  we  shall  see,  are  at 
work  in  the  United  States,  agitating  and  organizing,  tr}^- 
ing  to  use  the  present  unrest  in  the  country  to  foment 
the  "deepened,  broadened,  political  mass  strike — the 
weapon  of  revolution." 

On  July  19,  1919,  the  Left  Wing  issued  a  call  for  a 
convention  to  be  held  in  Chicago  on  September  i,  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  a  Communist  Party. 

On  August  30,  1919,  the  Socialist  Party  met  in  Chi- 
cago for  the  purpose  of  discussing  the  situation.  The 
Left  Wingers  tried  to  capture  the  convention,  the  police 
were  called  in,  and  the  Bolsheviki  of  the  party  were 
driven  out.  The  expelled  "Reds"  divided,  one  group 
organizing  the  Communist  Labor  Party,  and  the  other, 
the  Communist  Party.  Both  were  the  outgrowth  of  the 
Left  Wing  Convention.  Their  purposes  and  principles 
are  the  same. 

The  delegates  to  the  Communist  Labor  Party  assem- 
bled in  Chicago  in  the  headquarters  of  the  Recruiting 
Union  of  the  I,  W.  W.  on  September  3,  1919.  The  con- 
vention represented  a  membership  of  about  30,000.  Upon 


244  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  conclusion  of  the  convention  the  Party  started  an 
aggressive  campaign,  establishing  several  newspapers, 
circulating  pamphlets  and  holding  organization  meetings 
throughout  the  country. 

The  Party  adopted  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Bolshevist 
government  as  its  emblem.  It  adopted  the  IManifesto 
of  the  Third  International  as  its  guide.  It  mapped  out  a 
comprehensive  scheme  of  organization,  working  out 
every  detail  carefully.  The  constitution  provides  that 
"no  member  of  the  party  shall  accept  or  hold  any  ap- 
pointive or  public  office  (Civil  Service  positions  ex- 
cepted) without  the  consent  of  his  state  organization." 
The  members  have  no  allegiance  to  the  nation ;  fealty  is 
due  the  Party  alone.  And  the  Party  wrote  as  the  first 
paragraph  of  its  program : 

The  Communist  Labor  Party  of  America  declares  itself  in 
complete  accord  with  the  principles  of  the  communism,  as 
laid  down  in  the  Manifesto  of  the  Third  International 
formed  at  Moscow. 

In  another  portion  of  their  platform  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing statement  of  what  they  propose  to  do : 

The  Communist  Labor  Party  proposes  the  organization  of 
the  workers  as  a  class,  the  overthrow  of  capitalist  rule 

AND    THE    CONQUEST    OF    POLITICAL    POWER    BY    THE    WORKERS. 

The  workers  organized  as  the  ruling  class,  shall,  through 
their  government,  make  and  enforce  the  laws;  they  shall 
own  and  control  land,  factories,  mills,  mines,  transportation 
systems  and  financial  institutions.  All  power  to  the 
workers. 

It  calls  the  working  class  to  "organize  and  train  itself  for 
the  capture  of  state  power." 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    245 

The  Party  points  to  the  strikes  at  Winnipeg  and  Seat- 
tle as  the  way  to  victory.  "The  most  important  means 
of  capturing  state  power  for  the  workers  is  the  action  of 
the  masses,  proceeding  from  the  place  where  the 

WORKERS  are  GATHERED IN   THE  SHOPS  AND  FACTORIES. 

The  use  of  the  political  machinery  of  the  capitalist  state 
is  only  secondary." 

The  program  of  the  Communist  Labor  Party  is  a  rep- 
etition of  the  Left  Wing  ]\ianifesto  and  Program. 

The  Communist  Party  met  in  Chicago  September  i, 
to  September  7,  1919.  Its  130  delegates  represented  a 
membership  of  over  50,000.  The  Party  joined  the  Third 
International  and  took  as  its  watchword  the  "Way  to 
victory"  set  forth  in  the  Moscow  Manifesto. 

On  page  i  of  the  Manifesto  issued  by  the  Communist 
Party  of  America,  we  read:  "The  struggle  is  between 
the  capitalist  nations  (the  United  States)  of  the  world 
and  the  international  proletariat,  inspired  by  Soviet 
Russia." 

This  Manifesto  insists  that  voting  can  never  bring 
communism,  that  mass  action,  revolution,  is  the  way. 
Follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Russia.  The  capitalist  state 
in  America  (the  government  of  the  United  States),  must 
be  destroyed,  and  they  say  it  should  be  done  by  the  mass 
revolutionary  political  strike. 

Both  the  Communist  Party  and  the  Communist  Labor 
Party  look  upon  the  I.  W.  W.  as  the  labor  base  of  their 
movement. 

In  any  mention  of  revolutionary  industrial  unionism 
in  this  country,  there  must  be  recognized  the  immense 


246  THE  NEW  WORLD 

effect  upon  the  American  labor  movement  of  the  propa- 
ganda and  example  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World,  whose  long  and  valiant  struggles  and  heroic  sac- 
rifices in  the  class  war  have  earned  the  respect  and  af- 
fection of  all  workers  everywhere. 

The  I,  W.  W.  are  not  only  the  enemy  of  the  nation 
but  the  foe  of  American  organized  labor.  The  I.  W.  W. 
have  written  their  criminal  record  in  almost  every  state 
in  the  union.  In  their  song  book,  on  page  i8,  we  find  this 
degenerate  song: 

Mr.  Shark,  you  grafter,  ' 

You're  the  feller  I'm  after, 

For  I  mean  to  comb  your  hair  with  this  piece  of  pipe. 

See  the  shark  to  me  is  walking, 

Soon  this  gas  pipe  will  be  talking. 

Then  he'll  remember  me. 

Vincent  St.  John  in  his  "History,  Structure,  and 
Methods  of  the  I.  W.  W."  says : 

The  I.  W.  W.  aim  to  use  any  and  all  tactics  that  will  get 
the  results  sought  with  the  least  expenditure  of  time  and 
energy.  The  tactics  used  are  determined  solely  by  the 
power  of  the  organization  to  make  good  in  their  use.  The 
question  of  right  and  wrong  does  not  concern  us. 

It  was  the  I.  W.  W.  that  called  upon  the  workers  of 
America  not  to  fight  for  the  flag  but  to  call  general 
strikes  and  weaken  the  country  during  the  .war.  Hay- 
wood, the  father  of  the  movement,  declared :  "We  don't 
care  for  the  flag  and  we  are  against  patriotism;  there 
is  only  one  flag  in  the  world  for  us  and  that  is  the  'Red' 
flag." 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    247 

In  November,  191 6,  the  I.  W.  W.  Convention  in  Chi- 
cago adopted  this  resolution : 

We  openly  declare  ourselves  the  determined  opponents  of 
all  nationalistic  sectionalism  or  patriotism. 

By  their  own  words  we  have  three  Bolshevist  groups 
in  the  United  States.  They  are  organized  and  at  work. 
They  have  declared  war  upon  the  government.  They 
represent  a  menace  to  life  and  liberty,  to  peace  and  se- 
curity. By  one  emblem  they  all  swear — the  "Red"  flag — 
the  danger  signal  of  violence,  treachery,  and  revolution. 
Lincoln  said  that  a  nation  could  not  endure  half  free  and 
half  slave.  The  people  of  the  United  States  are  at  the 
crossroads.  Our  Republic  cannot  go  on,  part  of  it  under 
the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  part  of  it  under  the  "Red" 
flag.  Now  is  the  time  for  the  roll  call.  The  issue  must 
be  met.  There  is  no  room  for  compromise.  Those  who 
seek  to  justify  or  apologize  for  these  propagandists  of 
terror,  should  be  silenced.  In  these  trying  days  of  re- 
construction patience  wearies  when  sick  sentimentalists 
try  to  condone  the  treason  of  men  who  seek  to  set  our 
house  afire. 

Some  prominent  men  and  women  have  come  to  the 
defense  of  the  Bolsheviki  in  America.  They  have  gone 
farther  than  defending  the  outlaws ;  they  have  charged 
the  government  with  intolerance,  because  loyal  servants 
of  law  and  order  insist  upon  breaking  up  these  plots 
against  the  life  of  the  country.  Some  of  these  mis- 
guided citizens  have  raised  the  cry  that  free  speech  and 
the  right  of  free  assembly  are  being  denied  citizens  of 


248  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  Republic.  Where  and  when  has  free  speech  been 
denied  in  the  United  States?  What  is  free  speech? 
Surely  the  Constitution  does  not  license  advocating  the 
overthrow  of  the  government  by  force  and  violence. 
Free  speech  never  gave  man  the  right  to  bear  false  wit- 
ness against  his  neighbor.  If  a  man,  to  amuse  himself, 
cries  "Fire"  in  a  crowded  theater  and  thereby  provokes 
a  stampede,  resulting  in  the  trampling  to  death  of  women 
and  children,  he  cannot  escape  responsibility  for  his  act 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  exercising  his  Constitutional 
right  of  free  speech.  If  a  group  of  men  meet  for  the 
purpose  of  advocating  the  seizure  of  my  home,  urging 
my  murder  if  I  resist,  such  a  meeting  could  not  be  justi- 
fied under  the  right  of  free  assembly  nor  could  such 
criminal  speech  be  said  to  be  lawful  free  speech.  When 
men  meet  in  the  United  States  and  advocate  the  over- 
throw of  the  government  by  mass  action  they  are  guilty 
of  a  crime  one  hundred  and  ten  million  times  greater 
than  the  crime  of  one  who  advocates  the  seizure  of  an 
individual's  home  by  force. 

Some  who  pretend  to  be  good  citizens  complain  that 
the  government  is  destroying  the  freedom  of  asylum 
guaranteed  to  the  oppressed  of  all  lands,  when  aliens  are 
deported,  after  having  been  adjudged  guilty  of  advocat- 
ing the  overthrow  of  the  government  by  force.  The  cr}' 
goes  up  that  we  are  deporting  aliens  when  we  are  deport- 
ing enemies. 

It  might  be  well  for  those  who  give  of  their  time  and 
prominence  to  the  defense  of  the  Bolsheviki  and  I.  W. 
W.  in  the  United  States  to  give  a  moment's  thought  to 


BOLSHEVISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES    249 

the  70,000  brave  lads  who  sleep  in  France,  our  dead  who 
gave  all  for  the  flag  and  country  these  outlaws  seek  to 
disgrace  and  destroy.  It  might  be  well  to  remember  that 
the  Paris  Commune  grew  out  of  a  "broadened  and 
deepened  strike." 


CHAPTER  XX 
THE  NEW  WORLD 

From  the  beginning  the  problem  of  Hfe  has  been  to 
secure  enough  to  eat,  to  wear,  a  decent  place  in  which  to 
live,  fresh  air  and  sunshine,  a  chance  to  get  an  educa- 
tion, reasonable  hours  of  work  in  sanitary  and  safe  sur" 
roundings,  an  interest  in  work  that  robs  toil  of  machine 
monotony,  time  for  recreation  and  study,  opportunity  to 
know  and  understand  and  enjoy  the  finer  and  better 
things  of  life,  such  as  the  woods,  the  flowers,  nature, 
music,  poetry,  art,  the  sublime  works  of  God  and  man — 
this  is  the  passion  of  the  human  heart,  the  longing  of 
every  soul,  the  goal  of  mankind's  dream.  It  is  for  these 
things  men  work.  These  desires  live  in  all  men.  Some 
of  them  do  not  know  that  these  are  the  cravings  that 
keep  them  restless.  Others  do  not  realize  that  without 
these  surging  impulses  progress  would  be  impossible  and 
this  would  be  a  sad  old  world. 

In  quest  of  such  a  free  life  every  fight  has  been 
fought,  every  burden  carried,  sacrifices  have  been  made, 
martyrs  have  died.  On  this  hope  religion  is  built.  The 
struggle  for  a  better  and  nobler  and  happier  to-morrow 
is  throbbing  in  the  unrest  of  to-day. 

The  human  race  is  on  its  way.    It  knows  where  it  is 

250 


THE  NEW  WORLD  251 

going.  It  has  reached  poHtical  liberty.  To-day  men  are 
poHtically  free.  The  vote  of  the  humblest  counts  as 
much  as  the  vote  of  the  most  powerful.  All  men  have 
an  equal  say  in  selecting  their  servants  who  make  and 
enforce  the  law.  Election  day  is  common  hiring  day, 
the  candidate  for  ofhce  is  only  an  apphcant  for  a  job. 
The  voters,  rich  and  poor,  have  an  equal  voice  in  the 
hiring  of  the  men  who  make  up  the  government.  The 
highest  expression  of  political  freedom  is  found  in  the 
basic  principle  of  our  government,  that  all  just  powers 
are  derived  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Achiev- 
ing political  liberty  pointed  the  way  to  complete  freedom 
and  provided  a  peaceful,  orderly  manner  of  attaining  it. 
Our  political  freedom  outlaws  force  and  violence. 

But  political  freedom  and  actual  freedom  do  not  mean 
the  same  thing.  A  man  can  be  politically  free  and  starve 
and  through  no  fault  of  his  own.  A  hungry  man,  an 
overworked,  an  underfed  man  is  not  a  free  man.  In  the 
New  World  which  is  in  the  making  men  must  be  eco- 
nomically free,  and  by  that  I  mean  that  a  mere  existence 
must  give  way  to  a  real  life.  We  must  have  fewer  men 
with  more  than  they  can  possibly  use,  and  all  who  work 
are  entitled  to  enough  of  the  world's  good  to  live  on  a 
plane  higher  than  animals.  Distribution  must  be  moral 
and  equitable.  Man  must  be  secure  in  his  toil,  free  from 
the  fear  of  starvation.  Yes,  even  more,  he  must  have 
his  chance  to  look  up  and  he  has  not  it,  when  he  lives  in 
the  category  of  a  commodity.  His  job  must  be  something 
more  than  a  sweating  place. 

The  problem  is  man — the  man  at  the  bottom.     Sup- 


252  THE  NEW  WORLD 

pose  he  has  not  an  education.  Whose  fault  is  that?  He 
is  still  a  human  being  and  in  his  way,  a  way  not  of  his 
making,  he  wants  a  human  place  in  life.  He  is  blood 
and  bone  and  muscle  and  brain  and  nerves ;  he  has  a 
heart,  too,  and  a  soul,  we  are  told.  The  worker  marries, 
he  assumes  the  blood  and  legal  duty  of  making  a  home. 
Government  tells  him  to  marry.  Marriage  is  the  nor- 
mal state  of  man,  the  home  is  the  real  unit  of  society. 
Religion  says  that  it  is  the  moral  state  of  man.  Children 
come.  He  must  make  a  home  for  them,  feed,  clothe  and 
educate  them.  He  has  but  one  thing  to  give  the  world 
in  exchange  for  these  things  his  family  must  have ;  it  is 
his  labor  and  in  return  for  his  toil  he  is  handed  a  pay 
envelope.  If  its  content  is  not  sufficient  to  take  care  of 
his  family  what  can  he  do  ?  He  cannot  steal  to  make  up 
the  deficiency,  for  the  law  writes  that  down  "Larceny." 
He  cannot  beg,  for  that  is  vagrancy.  He  cannot  cut 
down  the  size  of  his  family  to  fit  his  wages,  for  that  is 
murder.  He  is  up  against  it  and  his  family  pays  the 
price  of  his  bankruptcy.  The  world  pays  a  still  greater 
price — ^the  standard  of  living  is  lowered,  immorality, 
crime,  ignorance  are  the  by-products. 

Wages  and  distribution  are  the  same  thing  to  the 
worker.  His  fight  is  for  more  wages.  The  employer 
is  interested  in  dividends  and  he  fights  to  keep  the  wage 
scale  down.  Both  seek  to  use  force,  the  worker  the 
power  of  numbers,  the  capitalist  the  power  of  money. 
One  says  I  will  break  you,  the  other  replies  I  will  starve 
you  out.  Force  never  settled  anything.  Might  is  a  poor 
doctrine  to  follow  in  solving  disputes  between  labor  and 


THE  NEW  WORLD  253 

capital.  Any  lasting  and  successful  solution  must  be 
based  upon  right,  justice. 

There  is  a  basis  of  settlement  that  is  moral;  it  is  the 
standard  of  living.  All  of  the  people  are  interested  in 
the  standard  of  living  in  America.  It  is  sound  public 
policy  to  consider  wage  agreements  from  the  point  of 
view  of  a  decent  standard  of  living.  Such  a  basis  in- 
cludes more  than  enough  to  eat,  it  embraces  living  rights. 
It  makes  effective  the  guarantee  that  all  citizens  are  enti- 
tled to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness. 

The  right  to  organize  is  part  of  the  free  man's  liberty ; 
economically  it  is  part  of  his  security.  We  have  had 
many  unnecessary  labor  wars  in  America  over  this  ques- 
tion. The  time  has  come  for  the  complete  recognition 
of  this  right  and  the  recognition  of  labor's  right  to  or- 
ganize should  be  made  in  good  faith.  It  will  not  do  to 
acknowledge  this  right  in  the  toiler  and  then  seek  to  de- 
stroy his  union  by  underhand  methods.  The  time  for 
right  thinking  and  square  dealing  is  here. 

The  right  to  strike  must  not  be  prohibited.  Such  a 
legal  prohibition  would  not  cure  industrial  discontent;  it 
would  only  aggravate  it.  The  right  to  cease  work  is 
an  essential  liberty  given  to  all  men  by  the  Constitution. 
We  must  get  at  the  cause  of  the  strike  if  we  are  to  make 
any  headway  toward  peace.  Back  of  the  strike  is  a 
grievance,  real  or  fancied.  We  should  search  it  out  and 
this  requires  conference,  examination  of  the  facts  and 
a  machinery  to  bring  about  justice  between  the  parties. 
The  peace  table  should  be  substituted  for  the  pitched 
battle.  Collective  bargaining  is  only  granting  to  the  work- 


254  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ingmen  a  voice  in  their  own  affairs.  The  voices  of  thou- 
sands of  unorganized  workingmen  are  a  whisper  while 
the  voice  of  an  employer  is  a  shout.  Men  in  all  walks 
of  life  use  the  principle  of  dealing  through  their  chosen 
representatives  and  it  works ;  our  government  is  built  on 
this  principle.  We  elect  representatives  to  act  for  us. 
Why  should  workingmen  not  have  the  right  to  pick  their 
own  representatives  and  deal  with  their  employers  in  the 
making  of  wage  scales  and  working  conditions? 

The  group  representing  the  public  in  the  President's 
Industrial  Conference  recently  wrote  the  following  con- 
clusion : 

We  believe  that  the  right  of  the  workers  to  organize  for 
the  purpose  of  collective  bargaining  with  their  employers, 
through  representatives  of  their  own  choosing,  cannot  be 
denied  or  assailed.  As  representatives  of  the  public  we  can 
interpret  this  right  only  in  the  sense  that  wage-earners  must 
be  free  to  choose  what  organizations  or  associations,  if  any, 
they  will  join  for  this  purpose. 

Property  rights  must  be  made  safe;  human  rights 
must  be  made  secure.  When  a  clash  comes  between  the 
two  it  is  the  duty  of  government  to  resolve  any  doubt 
in  favor  of  the  rights  of  man.  Lincoln,  in  his  annual 
message  to  Congress,  December  3,  1861,  wrote:  "Labor 
is  prior  to,  and  independent  of,  capital.  Capital  is  only 
the  fruit  of  labor,  and  could  never  have  existed  if  labor 
had  not  first  existed.  Labor  is  the  superior  of  capital, 
and  deserves  much  higher  consideration."  This  truth 
might  well  find  lodgment  in  the  minds  of  employers, 
when  in  this  day  of  unrest  they  take  up  with  their  em- 


THE  NEW  WORLD  255 

ployees  the  question  of  finding  a  new  method  of  adjust- 
ing differences. 

The  law  has  given  more  consideration  to  the  protec- 
tion of  property  rights  than  it  has  to  the  safeguarding 
of  human  beings.  If  a  man's  property  is  threatened  with 
injury  the  courts  are  open  to  him,  and  upon  application 
he  can  secure  a  writ  of  injunction  restraining  the  threat- 
ened damage.  Back  of  this  writ  is  the  full  power  of  the 
government,  the  police,  the  sheriff,  the  militia  and  the 
army.  If  a  worker's  happiness  and  life,  and  the  happi- 
ness, health,  and  Jiopes  of  his  wife  and  children  are 
menaced  because  his  wages  are  not  sufficient  to  meet 
the  high  cost  of  living,  the  law  has  provided  him  and  his 
with  no  protection  against  a  danger  that  is  not  of  his 
making.  The  worker  has  little,  if  anything,  to  do  with 
the  high  cost  of  living.  When  the  cost  of  living  is 
greater  than  his  earning  power,  he  and  his  family  are 
threatened  with  an  irreparable  injury.  Even  if  the  dam- 
age to  him  is  obvious  and  he  could  prove  that  the  em- 
ployer is  making  excess  profits  while  he  and  his  are 
hungry  and  cold,  he  cannot  go  into  a  court  of  law  and 
ask  relief. 

Notwithstanding  the  progress  we  have  made  in  many 
things,  the  strike  is  still  the  only  legal  method  open  to 
the  workers  by  which  they  can  compel  a  hearing.  Until 
some  machinery  is  devised  that  will  make  for  industrial 
democracy,  the  strike  will  continue  as  labor's  weapon. 
It  is  not  because  workingmen  like  the  strike  but  because 
it  is  the  only  method  they  have. 

The  strike  falls  heaviest  on  the  backs  of  the  toilers. 


256  THE  NEW  WORLD 

They  pay.  Their  families  know  its  terrors.  The  strike 
is  not  even  good  sportsmanship,  for  the  workers  are  not 
on  even  terms  with  the  employers.  When  workingmen 
are  locked  out  or  when  they  strike,  the  hardships  of  it 
fall  not  only  upon  themselves.  The  brunt  is  borne 
by  their  children  and  wives.  The  employer  seldom  suf- 
fers hunger  or  cold,  or  does  his  family  feel  the  pangs 
of  the  strike.  With  him  it  is  almost  always  a  financial 
loss  at  worst,  only  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents. 

Strikes  lead  to  lawlessness  on  both  sides.  The  em- 
ployer frequently  hires  criminal  gunmen  as  strike- 
breakers ;  often  idle  hungry  workingmen  on  strike  have 
little  regard  for  law  and  order.  It  is  not  that  either  em- 
ployer or  worker  is  at  heart  a  law-breaker ;  the  strike  is 
war,  and  war  knows  no  law. 

Strikes  develop  class  consciousness  and  in  so  doing 
injure  national  solidarity.  They  divide  the  house  against 
itself.  They  leave  scars  when  lost  or  won.  Beaten  men 
do  not  return  to  their  shops  with  any  spirit  of  coopera- 
tion. On  the  contrary,  they  return  with  revenge  in  their 
hearts  and  they  wait  for  another  day.  One  strike  breeds 
another.  When  the  workmen  win,  the  employer  takes 
them  back  with  a  resolve  to  get  even  and  to  prepare  for 
the  next  tussle. 

There  are  three  parties  to  every  strike  and  the  third 
party,  the  public,  always  loses.  Production  is  inter- 
rupted, the  loss  and  waste  must  be  paid  for  and  the  bill 
is  always  sent  to  the  innocent  victim,  the  public. 

The  present  world  unrest  will  not  have  been  without 
its  compensations  if  in  making  acute  the  strained  rela- 


THE  NEW  WORLD  257 

tions  between  labor  and  capital  it  is  responsible  for  the 
establishment  of  a  new  and  better  relation  between  the 
workers  and  the  employers  of  the  world.  Even  at  this 
moment  when  the  peak  of  unrest  has  not  as  yet  been 
reached,  there  are  many  signs  that  we  are  heading  in  the 
direction  of  a  permanent  industrial  peace.  The  prelim- 
inary statement  of  the  President's  Industrial  Conference 
shows  signs  of  an  agreement  among  the  three  groups, 
representing  the  people,  the  workers,  and  the  employ- 
ers, on  certain  fundamentals  which  underlie  the  whole 
trouble.  A  few  striking  sentences  from  this  statement 
measure  the  drift. 

The  true  relationship  between  employer  and  employee  in 
large  industries  can  be  promoted  only  by  the  deliberate  or- 
ganization of  that  relationship.  Not  only  must  the  theory 
that  labor  is  a  commodity  be  abandoned  but  the  concept  of 
leadership  must  be  substituted  for  that  of  mastership.  New 
machinery  of  democratic  representation  must  be  erected  to 
suit  the  conditions  of  present  industry  and  restore  a  measure 
of  personal  contact  and  a  sense  of  responsibility  between 
employer  and  employee.  The  more  recent  development  of 
such  machinery  with  the  cooperation  of  organized  labor  is  a 
hopeful   sign.     Human   fellowship   in   industry  may  be 

EITHER    AN    EMPTY    PHRASE    OR    A    LIVING    FACT.      There    is    UO 

magic  formula.  It  can  be  a  fact  only  if  there  is  continued 
and  sincere  effort  for  mutual  understanding  and  an  unfail- 
ing recognition  that  there  is  a  community  of  interest  be- 
tween employer  and  employee. 

The  sending  to  the  scrap  heap  of  the  old  "master  and 
servant"  idea  is  a  good  beginning.  The  recognition  of 
labor  as  human  rather  than  as  a  commodity  marks  the 


^58 


THE  NEW  WORLD 


end  of  the  industrial  day  when  labor  was  a  chattel.  No 
greater  or  more  timely  truth  was  ever  penned  than  the 
statement  that  "human  fellowship  in  industry  'may  be 
either  an  empty  phrase  or  a  living  fact."  The  way  to 
industrial  democracy  is  more  democracy.  One  of  the 
fundamental  causes  of  industrial  discontent  has  been  the 
lack  of  the  human,  personal  relationship  between  em- 
ployer and  employee.  The  strike  and  the  lock-out  have 
created  a  mental  state  which  has  made  enemies  of  men 
whose  common  interest  should  have  made  them  friends. 

The  workingmen's  grievance  is  not  merely  a  question 
of  wages  or  hours  of  employment.  It  goes  deeper.  The 
workers  want  the  joy  and  satisfaction  of  being  part  of 
the  business.  Hitherto  they  have  been  part  of  the  busi- 
ness only  in  the  sense  that  they  have  given  it  their  lives. 
Work  without  an  interest  in  the  business  is  to  the  worker 
just  what  it  would  be  to  the  employer,  drudgery.  Work- 
ingmen  have  the  same  human  impulses  and  feelings  that 
employers  have.  The  monotony  of  being  a  worker  with- 
out any  interest  in  the  job  except  to  get  the  most  salary 
possible  for  the  least  work  makes  real  cooperation  im- 
possible, and  the  quality  and  quantity  of  production  is 
affected. 

Labor  and  capital  should  be  a  partners:hip.  The  two 
are  like  the  blades  of  a  scissors ;  separate  and  apart  they 
are  meaningless  and  valueless ;  joined  together,  func- 
tioning harmoniously,  they  are  useful  and  necessary  to 
the  world.  This  partnership  idea  must  be  put  into  prac- 
tice. The  product  of  the  partnership  must  be  more  fair- 
ly divided.     There  is  no  gainsaying  that  distribution  has 


THE  NEW  WORLD  259 

been  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  employers  and  that  the 
workers  have  suffered. 

In  Prague  I  asked  President  Mazayrik  for  his  opin- 
ion of  the  cause  of  unrest.     He  replied : 

Here  we  have  a  pile  of  gold  and  a  few  people  in  posses- 
sion of  it,  wasting  it  to  their  own  injury  and  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  world,  while  over  here  we  have  the  many  living 
in  wretchedness  and  fear. 

I  found  an  illustration  in  Paris.  I  had  been  looking 
at  some  famous  paintings.  The  picture  of  a  baby  at- 
tracted me.  It  was  of  a  child  of  the  people.  I  was  told 
it  was  worth  $100,000.  Later  in  the  day,  walking 
through  the  streets  of  the  poorer  districts  in  Paris,  I 
saw  dozens  of  children,  any  of  whom  might  have  posed 
for  the  picture,  and  these  children  were  worth  nothing. 
The  painting  hung  in  a  beautiful  building.  These  chil- 
dren lived  in  hovels.  The  work  of  the  Master  seems  to 
have  lost  its  value. 

There  w^as  a  time  when  usury  was  not  considered  a 
social  or  legal  crime.  Money-lenders  insisted  they  had 
the  right  to  lend  their  money  at  any  rate  of  interest  they 
could  obtain.  They  took  advantage  of  the  borrower's 
necessity  and  argued  that  it  was  their  right  to  make  such 
private  contracts  as  they  could.  When  saner  minds 
urged  that  the  state  had  an  interest,  that  the  public  wel- 
fare was  affected  by  the  lender's  exacting  the  last  pound 
of  flesh,  a  cry  went  up  that  the  sacred  right  of  private 
contract  was  being  invaded ;  that  the  liberty  of  man's  re- 
lation  with    man   was   being   violated.      Yet,   the   laws 


26o  THE  NEW  WORLD 

against  usury  came  and  they  have  remained.  These  laws 
provide  that  a  lender  shall  be  limited  in  the  amount  he 
receives  as  interest  on  his  loans.  To-day  every  one  ad- 
mits the  morality,  the  humanity,  the  wisdom  and  the 
justice  of  the  usury  laws. 

Men  investing  money  in  business  injure  the  public  wel- 
fare when  they  profiteer.  We  call  it  robbing  the  con- 
sumer. How  much  greater  the  larceny  when  the  excess 
profits  come  from  the  sweat  of  the  producer? 

Big  business  must  be  honestly  organized.  The  capi- 
talization of  the  corporation  should  represent  values 
actually  invested.  The  investors  are  entitled  to  a  reason- 
able return  on  their  investment,  to  an  insurance  against 
the  "rainy  day;"  they  are  entitled  to  set  aside  a  per- 
centage of  the  earnings  gradually  to  replace  the  capital 
invested.  After  this  is  done,  the  balance  should  go  to 
the  workers.  Into  the  business  they  have  put  their  lives ; 
out  of  it  they  are  entitled  to  get  more  than  a  living. 
Their  lives  are  spent  in  their  work.  Surely  they  have  a 
right  to  a  say  in  their  own  lives. 

No  one  with  whom  I  have  talked  had  the  plans  and 
specifications  for  the  New  Order,  but  many  had  in 
mind  a  general  outline.  The  government,  the  working- 
men,  the  employers  should  cooperate  in  making  the  plan, 
in  building  the  New  World. 

Two  plans  have  been  suggested.  Both  are  worthy  of 
the  careful  consideration  of  Congress.  They  have  a 
common  object,  to  prevent  strikes  not  by  prohibiting  the 
strike  but  by  doing  away  with  the  need  of  the  strike  by 
providing  a  peaceful  method  of  settling  the  questions 


THE  NEW  WORLD  261 

that  are  bound  to  arise  between  employers  and  em- 
ployees. These  plans  do  not  provide  for  compulsory  ar- 
bitration. They  avoid  the  pitfall  of  force  and  in  its 
place  invoke  the  powder  of  public  opinion  to  induce  the 
arbitration  of  disputes  and  the  acceptance  of  av^ards. 

One  proposal  comes  from  the  President's  Second  In- 
dustrial Conference.  The  general  structure  is  thus  out- 
lined by  the  commission: 

1.  The  parties  to  the  dispute  may  voluntarily  submit 
their  differences  for  settlement  to  a  board,  known  as  a 
regional  adjustment  conference.  This  board  consists  of  four 
representatives  selected  by  the  parties  and  four  others  in 
their  industry  chosen  by  them  and  familiar  with  their  prob- 
lems. The  board  is  presided  over  by  a  trained  government 
official,  the  regional  chairman,  who  acts  as  a  conciliator.  If 
a  unanimous  agreement  is  reached,  it  results  in  a  collective 
bargain  having  the  same  effect  as  if  reached  by  joint  organ- 
ization in  the  shops. 

2.  If  the  regional  conference  fails  to  agree  unanimously, 
the  matter,  with  certain  restrictions,  goes,  under  the  agree- 
ment of  submission,  to  the  national  industrial  board,  unless 
the  parties  prefer  the  decision  of  an  umpire  selected  by 
them. 

3.  The  voluntary  submission  to  a  regional  adjustment 
conference  carries  with  it  an  agreement  by  both  parties  that 
there  shall  be  no  interference  with  production  pending  the 
processes  of  adjustment. 

4.  If  the  parties,  or  either  of  them,  refuse  voluntarily  to 
submit  the  dispute  to  the  processes  of  the  plan  of  adjust- 
ment, a  regional  board  of  inquiry  is  formed  by  the  regional 
chairman,  of  two  employers  and  two  employees  from  the 
industry,  and  not  parties  to  the  dispute.  This  board  has 
the  right,  under  proper  safeguards,  to  subpoena  witnesses 


262  THE  NEW  WORLD 

and  records  and  the  duty  to  publish  its  findings  as  a  guide 
to  public  opinion.  Either  of  the  parties  at  conflict  may  join 
the  board  of  inquiry  on  giving  an  undertaking  that,  so  far 
as  its  side  is  concerned,  it  will  agree  to  submit  its  contention 
to  a  regional  adjustment  conference,  and  if  both  join,  a 
regional  adjustment  conference  is  automatically  created. 

5.  The  National  Industrial  Board  in  Washington  has 
general  oversight  of  the  vi'orking  of  the  plan. 

6.  The  plan  is  applicable  also  to  public  utilities,  but  in 
such  cases  the  government  agency,  having  power  to  regulate 
the  service,  has  two  representatives  in  the  adjustment  con- 
ference. Provision  is  made  for  prompt  report  of  its  findings 
to  the  rate  regulating  body. 

7.  The  plan  provides  machinery  for  prompt  and  fair 
adjustment  of  wages  and  working  conditions  of  government 
employees.  It  is  especially  necessary  for  this  class  of  em- 
ployees, who  should  not  be  permitted  to  strike. 

8.  The  plan  involves  no  penalties  other  than  those  im- 
posed by  public  opinion.  It  does  not  impose  compulsory 
arbitration.  It  does  not  deny  the  right  to  strike.  It  does 
not  submit  to  arbitration  the  policy  of  the  "closed"  or  "open" 
shop. 

The  other  proposal  comes  from  Secretary  of  Labor 
Wilson : 


OUTLINE    OF    PLAN    FOR    ADJUSTMENT    OF    LABOR 
DISPUTES 

There  shall  be  created  a  Board  of  equal  numbers  of  em- 
ployers and  employees  in  each  of  the  principal  industries 
and  a  Board  to  deal  with  miscellaneous  industries  not  hav- 
ing separate  boards.  The  representatives  of  labor  on  such 
boards  shall  be  selected  in  such  manner  as  the  workmen  in 
the   industry  may   determine.     The   representatives   of  the 


THE  NEW  WORLD  263 

employers  shall  be  selected  in  such  manner  as  the  employers 
in  the  industry  may  determine. 

Whenever  any  dispute  arises  in  any  plant  or  series  of 
plants  that  cannot  be  adjusted  locally  the  question  or  ques- 
tions in  dispute  shall  be  referred  to  the  Board  created  for 
that  industry  for  adjustment.  The  Board  shall  also  take 
jurisdiction  whenever  in  the  judgment  of  one-half  of  its 
members  a  strike  or  lockout  is  imminent.  Decisions  of  the 
Board  on  questions  of  wages,  hours  of  labor,  or  working 
conditions  must  be  arrived  at  by  unanimous  vote.  If  the 
Board  shall  fail  to  come  to  a  unanimous  determination  of 
any  such  question,  the  question  in  dispute  shall  be  referred 
to  a  General  Board  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  the  following  manner: 

One  third  of  the  number  to  be  appointed  in  agreement 
with  the  organization  or  organizations  of  employers  most 
representative  of  employers;  one  third  of  the  number  to  be 
appointed  in  agreement  with  the  organization  or  organiza- 
tions of  labor  most  representative  of  labor;  one-third  of  the 
number  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  direct. 

Any  question  in  dispute  submitted  to  the  General  Board 
for  adjudication  shall  be  decided  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  Board.  If  the  General  Board  fails  to  arrive  at  a  de- 
cision by  unanimous  vote  the  question  or  questions  at  issue 
shall  be  submitted  to  an  umpire  for  determination.  The 
umpire  shall  be  selected  by  one  of  the  two  following  proc- 
esses: First,  by  unanimous  selection  of  the  General  Board. 
Failing  of  such  selection,  then  the  umpire  shall  be  drawn  by 
lot  from  a  standing  list  of  twenty  persons  named  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  as  competent  umpires  in 
labor  disputes. 

In  all  disputes  that  may  be  pending  locally,  or  before  the 
Industrial  Board,  or  before  the  General  Board,  or  before 
the  umpire,  the  employers  and  employees  shall  each  have  the 


264  THE  NEW  WORLD 

right  to  select  counsel  of  their  own  choice  to  represent  them 
in  presenting  the  matter  in  controversy. 

Whenever  an  agreement  is  reached  locally,  or  by  the 
unanimous  vote  of  the  Industrial  Board,  or  by  the  unani- 
mous vote  of  the  General  Board,  or  by  the  decision  of  the 
umpire,  the  conclusion  arrived  at  shall  have  all  the  force 
and  effect  of  a  trade  agreement  which  employers  and  em- 
ployees shall  be  morally  bound  to  accept  and  abide  by. 

It  is  understood  that  this  plan  would  not  interfere  with 
any  system  of  joint  wage  conferences  now  in  existence  un- 
less or  until  the  failure  to  agree  in  such  a  conference  made 
a  strike  or  lockout  imminent. 

The  man  seeking  justice  must  do  justice;  he  who 
wants  liberty  must  respect  the  rights  of  others;  if  there 
is  to  be  freedom,  order  and  security,  all  must  submit  to 
the  will  of  the  majority.  This  is  the  Golden  Rule,  the 
rock  upon  which  free  government  is  built.  Lincoln 
voiced  the  creed : 

Let  every  man  remember  that  to  violate  the  law  is  to 
trample  on  the  blood  of  his  father,  and  to  tear  the  Charter 
of  his  own  and  his  children's  liberty.  Let  reverence  for  the 
laws  be  breathed  by  every  American  mother  to  the  lisping 
babe  that  prattles  on  her  lap.  Let  it  be  taught  in  schools,  In 
seminaries,  and  in  colleges.  Let  it  be  written  in  primers, 
spelling  books,  and  in  almanacs.  Let  it  be  preached  from 
the  pulpit,  proclaimed  in  legislative  halls,  and  enforced  in 
courts  of  justice.  And,  in  short,  let  it  become  the  political 
slogan  of  the  nation. 

Let  respect  for  the  law  light  the  way  in  this  day  of 
unrest.  If  we  do,  we  shall  not  stumble.  We  are  facing 
East.  The  new  day  is  breaking.  A  better  understand- 
ing is  in  sight.     Let  no  one  stand  in  the  way  of  com- 


THE  NEW  WORLD  265 

promise  and  concession.  To  avoid  entangling  alliances 
it  is  not  necessary  to  abandon  Europe.  To  put  an  end 
to  war  some  open  agreement  of  nations  is  necessary.  Se- 
cret treaties  must  cease ;  the  new  internationalism  must 
be  a  covenant  insuring  the  democracy  of  the  world. 
America's  place  is  in  the  vanguard  of  the  nations.  We 
are  a  world  power;  we  cannot  escape  our  place  and  our 
responsibility  in  the  family  of  nations. 

"America  for  Americans,  and  all  for  humanity," 
might  not  make  a  bad  foreign  policy. 

The  creed  of  our  house  is :  "Man  is  his  brother's 
keeper." 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  I 

DECLARATION  OF  THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  LABORING 
AND  EXPLOITED  PEOPLE* 

The  form  of  the  following  declaration  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  it  was  prepared  for  submission  to  the 
Constituent  Assembly,  which,  however,  broke  up  with- 
out acting  upon  it. 

The  Central  Executive  Committee  proclaims  the  fol- 
lowing basic  principles : 

ARTICLE  I 

The  Constituent  Assembly  resolves: 

1.  Russia  is  declared  to  be  a  Republic  of  Soviets  of 
Workmen's,  Soldiers',  Peasants'  Deputies.  All  the 
power  in  the  center  and  in  the  provinces  belongs  to  these 
Soviets. 

2.  The  Russian  Soviet  Republic  is  formed  on  the 
basis  of  a  Free  Union  of  Free  Nations,  as  a  Federa- 
tion of  National  Soviet  Republics. 

'  The  Declaration  and  Constitution  of  the  Russian  Soviet 
Federal  Socialist  Republic  was  submitted  to  the  Constitutional 
Convention  and  because  the  Convention  refused  to  adopt  the 
Soviet  Declaration  it  was  dissolved  by  the  "Red"  Guard  at 
the   command   of   Lenin. 

269 


270  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ARTICLE  II 

Taking  as  its  fundamental  task  the  abolition  of  any 
exploitation  of  men  by  men,  the  complete  elimination 
of  the  division  of  society  into  classes,  the  ruthless  sup- 
pression of  exploiters,  the  establishment  of  a  socialistic 
organization  of  society,  and  the  victory  of  socialism  in 
all  countries,  the  Constituent  Assembly  resolves  fur- 
ther: 

1.  To  effect  the  socialization  of  the  land,  private 
ownership  of  land  is  abolished,  and  the  whole  land  fund 
is  declared  common  national  property  and  transferred 
to  the  laborers  without  compensation,  on  the  basis  of 
equalized  use  of  the  soil.  All  forests,  minerals,  and 
waters  of  state-wide  importance  as  well  as  the  whole 
inventory  of  animate  and  inanimate  objects,  all  estates 
and  agricultural  enterprises,  are  declared  national 
property. 

2.  The  Soviet  law  of  labor  control  and  the  supreme 
board  of  National  Economy  are  confirmed  with  the 
view  of  securing  the  authority  of  the  toilers  over  the 
exploiters,  as  the  first  step  to  the  complete  transfer  of 
all  factories,  mills,  mines,  railways  and  other  means 
of  production  and  transportation  to  the  ownership  of 
the  Workmen's  and  Peasants'  Soviet  Republic. 

3.  The  transfer  of  all  banks  to  the  ownership  of  the 
Workers'  and  Peasants'  state  is  confirmed,  this  being 
one  of  the  .onditions  of  the  emancipation  of  the  labor- 
ing masses  from  the  yoke  of  capital. 

4.  With  a  view  to  the  destruction  of  the  parasitic 


APPENDICES  271 

classes  of  society  and  the  organization  of  the  national 
economy,  universal  labor  service  is  established. 

5.  In  the  interest  of  securing  all  the  power  for  the 
laboring  masses  and  the  elimination  of  any  possibility 
of  the  reestablishment  of  the  power  of  the  exploiters, 
the  army  of  the  toilers,  the  formation  of  a  socialistic 
"Red"  army  of  workmen  and  peasants,  and  the  com- 
plete disarmament  of  the  wealthy  classes  are  decreed. 

ARTICLE  III 

1.  Expressing  its  inflexible  determination  to  wrest 
humanity  from  the  talons  of  financial  capital  and  im- 
perialism, which  have  drenched  the  earth  with  blood  in 
this  most  criminal  of  wars,  the  Constituent  Assembly 
subscribes  unanimously  to  the  policy  of  abrogating  se- 
cret treaties  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  Soviet  gov- 
ernment, the  organization  of  the  widest  fraternalization 
with  the  workmen  and  peasants  of  the  armies  now  war- 
ring against  each  other,  and  the  securing,  at  any  cost 
and  by  revolutionary  means,  of  a  democratic  peace  with- 
out annexations  and  indemnities,  on  the  basis  of  free 
self-determination  of  peoples. 

2.  For  these  same  purposes  the  Constituent  Assem- 
bly insists  upon  a  complete  break  with  the  barbarous 
policy  of  bourgeois  civilization,  which  built  the  pros- 
perity of  the  exploiters  among  the  few  chosen  nations 
upon  the  enslavement  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  the 
laboring  population  in  Asia,  in  the  colonies  in  general, 
and  in  the  small  countries. 


2^2  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  Constituent  Assembly  welcomes  the  policy  of 
the  Council  of  People's  Commissars,  which  has  pro- 
claimed the  complete  independence  of  Finland,  which 
has  begun  the  removal  of  the  troops  from  Persia,  and 
which  has  declared  the  freedom  of  self-determination 
for  Armenia. 

The  Constituent  Assembly  views  the  Soviet  law  of 
the  repudiation  of  the  loans  contracted  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Czar,  by  the  land  owners,  and  by  the  bour- 
geoisie, as  the  first  blow  to  international  banking,  finance, 
-and  capital,  and  expresses  its  confidence  that  the  Soviet 
authority  will  continue  to  pursue  that  course  until  the 
complete  victory  of  rising  international  labor  against 
the  yoke  of  capital  is  attained. 

ARTICLE  IV 

Having  been  elected  on  the  basis  of  party  lists  made 
up  before  the  October  revolution,  when  the  people 
could  not  yet  rise  en  masse  against  the  exploiters  and 
did  not  know  the  strength  of  the  opposition  when  the 
latter  defends  its  class  privileges,  and  when  the  people 
had  not  yet  practically  undertaken  the  creation  of  a 
socialistic  society,  the  Constituent  Assembly  would 
deem  it  radically  wrong,  even  from  a  formal  point  of 
view,  to  set  itself  in  opposition  to  the  Soviets. 

In  substance  the  Constituent  Assembly  considers  that 
now,  at  the  moment  of  the  decisive  battle  of  the  people 
with  their  exploiters,  there  can  be  no  place  for  the  lat- 
ter in  any  of  the  organs  of  government.     The  power 


APPENDICES  273 

must  belong  wholly  and  exclusively  to  the  toiling  masses 
and  their  plenipotentiaries,  the  Soviets  of  Workmen's, 
Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Delegates. 

Supporting  the  Soviet  Government  and  the  Decrees 
of  the  Council  of  the  People's  Commissars,  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly  recognizes  that  its  tasks  are  com- 
pleted when  it  has  framed  a  general  statement  of  the 
fundamental  basis  of  a  sociaUstic  reconstruction  of  so- 
ciety. 

At  the  same  time,  aiming  at  the  creation  of  a  really 
free  and  voluntary  and  consequently  a  more  complete 
and  lasting  union  of  the  laboring  classes  of  all  the  na- 
tions of  Russia,  the  Constituent  Assembly  confines 
itself  to  the  establishment  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  federation  of  the  Soviet  Republic  of  Russia,  leav- 
ing it  to  the  Workmen  and  Peasants  of  each  nation  to 
decide  independently  at  their  own  representative  So- 
viet Congress,  whether  they  wish  to  participate  in  the 
Federal  Government  and  in  the  other  Soviet  Institu- 
tions, and  on  what  basis. 

ABOLITION  OF  CLASSES  AND  CIVIL  RANK 

1.  All  classes  and  class  divisions  of  citizens,  class 
privileges  and  disabilities,  class  organization  and  insti- 
tutions which  have  until  now  existed  in  Russia,  as  well 
as  all  civil  ranks,  are  abolished. 

2.  All  designations  (as  merchant,  nobleman,  bur- 
gher, peasant,  etc.),  titles  (as  prince,  count,  etc.),  and 
distinctions  of  civil  ranks  (privy,  state,  and  other  chan- 
cellors), are  abolished,  and  one  common  designation  is 


274  THE  NEW  WORLD 

established  for  all  the  population  of  Russia — citizen  of 
the  Russian  Republic. 

3.  The  properties  of  the  noblemen's  class  institu- 
tions are  hereby  transferred  to  corresponding  Zemstvo 
self-governing  bodies, 

4.  The  properties  of  the  Merchants'  and  Burghers' 
Associations  are  hereby  placed  at  the  disposal  of  cor- 
responding municipal  bodies. 

5.  All  class  institutions,  transactions,  and  archives 
are  hereby  transferred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  correspond- 
ing municipal  Zemstvo  bodies. 

6.  All  corresponding  clauses  of  the  laws  w^hich  have 
existed  until  now  are  abolished. 

7.  This  decree  becomes  effective  from  the  day  of 
its  publication  and  is  to  be  immediately  put  into  effect 
by  the  local  Soviets  of  Workmen's,  Soldiers'  and  Peas- 
ants' Deputies. 

Ya.  Sverdlov 
President  of  the   Central  Executive   Committee 

Vl.  Oulianov  (Lenin) 
Pr^isident  of  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars 

Bonch-Bruyevich 

Director  of  the  Affairs  of  the  Council  of  People's 

Commissars 

N.   GORBOUNOV 

Secretary  to  the  Council. 
November  10,  191 7. 


APPENDIX  II 

A  DECLARATION  BY  THE  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA  IN  CONGRESS 
ASSEMBLED 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  one  people  to  dissolve  the  political  bands 
which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  assume, 
among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the  separate  and  equal 
station  to  which  the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  God 
entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind requires  that  tliey  should  declare  the  causes  which 
impel  them  to  the  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident — that  all  men 
are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Crea- 
tor with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  se- 
cure these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned ;  that,  wherever  any  form  of  government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends  it  is  the  right  of  the  people 
to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government,  laying 
its  foundations  on  such  principles,  and  organizing  its 
powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely 
to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness.    Prudence,  indeed, 

275 


276  THE  NEW  WORLD 

will  dictate  that  governments  long  established  should 
not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are 
more  disposed  to  suffer,  while  evils  are  sufferable,  than 
to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which 
they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses 
and  usurpations,  pursuing  invariably  the  same  object, 
evinces  a  design  to  reduce  them  under  absolute  despot- 
ism, it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  duty,  to  throw  off  such 
government,  and  to  provide  new  guards  for  their  future 
security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  sufferance  of  these 
colonies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains 
them  to  alter  their  former  systems  of  government.  The 
history  of  the  present  king  of  Great  Britain  is  a  history 
of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpations,  all  having  in  direct 
object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over 
these  States.  To  prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to 
a  candid  world : 

1.  He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  whole- 
some and  necessary  for  the  public  good. 

2.  He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of 
immediate  and  pressing  importance,  unless  suspended  in 
their  operations  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained;  and, 
when  so  suspended,  he  has  utterly  neglected  to  attend 
to  them. 

3.  He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  the  accom- 
modation of  large  districts  of  people,  unless  those  people 
would  relinquish  the  right  of  representation  in  the  Legis- 
lature— a  right  inestimable  to  them,  and  formidable  to 
tyrants  only. 


APPENDICES  277' 

4.  He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places 
unusual,  uncomfortable,  and  distant  from  the  repository 
of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  fatiguing 
them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

5.  He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeat- 
edly, for  opposing,  with  manly  firmness,  his  invasions  on 
the  rights  of  the  people. 

6.  He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  disso- 
lutions, to  cause  others  to  be  elected,  whereby  the  legis- 
lative powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned 
to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise;  the  State  re- 
maining, in  the  meantime,  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of 
invasions  from  without,  and  convulsions  within. 

7.  He  has  endeavored  to  prevent  the  population  of 
these  States;  for  that  purpose  obstructing  the  laws  for 
the  naturalization  of  foreigners ;  refusing  to  pass  others 
to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the 
conditions  of  new  appropriations  of  lands. 

8.  He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice, 
by  refusing  his  assent  to  laws  for  establishing  judiciary 
powers. 

9.  He  has  made  judges  dependent  on  his  will  alone 
for  the  tenure  of  their  offices,  and  the  amount  and  pay- 
ment of  their  salaries. 

10.  He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and 
sent  hither  swarms  of  officers  to  harass  our  people  and 
eat  out  their  substance. 

11.  He  has  kept  among  us  in  times  of  peace,  stand- 
ing armies,  without  the  consent  of  our  Legislatures. 


278  THE  NEW  WORLD 

12.  He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  indepen- 
dent of,  and  superior  to,  the  civil  power. 

13.  He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a 
jurisdiction  foreign  to  our  constitutions,  and  unacknowl- 
edged by  our  laws ;  giving  his  assent  to  their  acts  of 
pretended  legislation ; 

14.  For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops 
among  us ; 

15.  For  protecting  them,  by  a  mock  trial,  from  pun- 
ishment for  any  murders  which  they  should  commit  on 
the  inhabitants  of  these  States ; 

16.  For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the 
world ; 

17.  For  imposing  taxes  on  us  without  our  consent; 

18.  For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits 
of  a  trial  by  jury; 

19.  For  transporting  us  beyond  seas,  to  be  tried  for 
pretended  offenses ; 

20.  For  abolishing  the  free  system  of  English  laws 
in  a  neighboring  province,  establishing  therein  an  arbi- 
trary government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as 
to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for 
introducing  the  same  absolute  rule  into  these  colonies; 

21.  For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our 
most  valuable  laws,  and  altering,  fundamentally,  the 
forms  of  our  governments ; 

22.  For  suspending  our  own  Legislatures,  and  de- 
claring themselves  invested  with  power  to  legislate  for 
us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 


APPENDICES  279 

23.  He  has  abdicated  government  here,  by  declaring 
us  out  of  his  protection,  and  waging  war  against  us. 

24.  He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts, 
burned  our  towns  and  destroyed  the  lives  of  our  people. 

25.  He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of 
foreign  mercenaries  to  complete  the  works  of  death,  des- 
solation  and  tyranny,  alteady  begun  with  circumstances 
of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most 
barbarous  ages,  and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a 
civilized  nation. 

26.  He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken 
captive  on  the  high  seas,  to  bear  arms  against  their 
country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and 
brethren,  or  to  fal  themselves  by  their  hands. 

2"/.  He  has  excited  domestic  insurrection  among  us, 
and  has  endeavored  to  bring  on  the  inhabitants  of  our 
frontiers  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known 
rule  of  warfare  is  undistinguished  destruction  of  all 
ages,  sexes,  and  conditions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions  we  have  petitioned 
for  redress  in  the  most  humble  terms ;  our  repeated  peti- 
tions have  been  answered  only  by  repeated  injury,  A 
prince  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act 
which  may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a 
free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  our  attentions  to  our 
British  brethren.  We  have  warned  them,  from  time  to 
time,  of  attempts  by  their  legislature  to  extend  an  un- 
warrantable jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded 
them  of  the  circumstances  of  our  emigration  and  settle- 


28o  THE  NEW  WORLD 

merit  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their  native  justice  and 
■  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them  by  the  ties  of 
our  common  kindred  to  disavow  these  usurpations, 
which  would  inevitably  interrupt  our  connections  and 
correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the  voice 
of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.  We  must,  therefore, 
acquiesce  in  the  necessity  which  denounces  our  separa- 
tion, and  hold  them  as  we  hold  the  rest  of  mankind — * 
enemies  in  war;  in  peace,  friends. 

We,  therefore,  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  of  America  in  general  Congress  assembled,  ap- 
pealing to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  world  for  the  rec- 
titude of  our  intentions,  do,  in  the  name  and  by  the 
authority  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies,  solemnly 
publish  and  declare  that  these  united  colonies  are,  and 
of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States;  that 
they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  political  connection  between  them 
and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally 
dissolved,  and  that,  as  free  and  independent  States,  they 
have  full  power  to  levy  war,  conclude  peace,  contract 
alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  do  all  other  acts  and 
things  which  independent  States  may  of  right  do.  And 
for  the  support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance 
of  the  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  we  mutually 
pledge  to  each  other  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our 
sacred  honor. 


APPENDIX  III 

CONSTITUTION 
(Fundamental  Law) 

The  Russian   Socialist  Federated   Soviet   Republic.     Resolutions 

of  the  5th  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets,  adopted 

July  10,  1918. 

The  declaration  of  rights  of  the  laboring  and  ex- 
ploited people  (approved  by  the  third  All-Russian  Con- 
gress of  Soviets  in  January,  1918),  together  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  Soviet  Republic,  approved  by  the 
fifth  Congress,  constitutes  a  single  fundamental  law  of 
the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

This  fundamental  law  becomes  effective  upon  the  pub- 
lication of  the  same  in  its  entirety  in  the  'Tzvestia  of  the 
All-Russian  General  Executive  Committee."  It  must 
be  published  by  all  organs  of  the  Soviet  government  and 
must  be  posted  in  a  prominent  place  in  every  Soviet 
institution. 

The  fifth  Congress  instructs  the  People's  Commissa- 
riat of  Education  to  introduce  in  all  schools  and  educa- 
tional institutions  of  the  Russian  Republic  the  study  and 
explanation  of  the  basic  principles  of  this  Constitution^ 

281 


282  THE  NEW  WORLD 

ARTICLE  ONE. 
Declaration  of  Rights  of  the  Laboring  and  Exploited  People. 

Chapter  One. 

1.  Russia  is  declared  to  be  a  Republic  of  the  Soviets 
of  Workers',  Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies.  All  the 
central  and  local  power  belongs  to  these  Soviets. 

2.  The  Russian  Soviet  Republic  is  organized  on  the 
basis  of  a  free  union  of  free  nations,  as  a  federation  of 
Soviet  national  Republics. 

Chapter  Two, 

3.  Bearing  in  mind  as  its  fundamental  problem  the 
abolition  of  exploitation  of  men  by  men,  the  entire  abo- 
lition of  the  division  of  the  people  into  classes,  the  sup- 
pression of  exploiters,  the  establishment  of  a  Socialist 
society,  and  the  victory  of  socialism  in  all  lands,  the 
third  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  of  Workers',  Sol- 
diers' and  Peasants'  Deputies  further  resolves : 

a.  For  the  purpose  of  realizing  the  socialization  of 
land,  all  private  property  in  land  is  abolished,  and  the 
entire  land  is  declared  to  be  national  property  and  is  to 
be  apportioned  among  husbandmen  without  any  compen- 
sation to  the  former  owners,  in  the  measure  of  each  one's 
ability  to  till  it. 

b.  All  forests,  treasures  of  the  earth,  and  waters  of 
general  public  utility,  all  implements  whether  animate 
or  inanimate,  model  farms  and  agricultural  enterprises 
are  declared  to  be  national  property. 


APPENDICES  283 

c.  As  a  first  step  toward  complete  transfer  of  owner- 
ship to  the  Soviet  Repubhc  of  all  factories,  mills,  mines, 
railways  and  other  means  of  production  and  transporta- 
tion, the  Soviet  law  for  the  control  by  workmen  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Supreme  Soviet  of  National  Econ- 
omy is  hereby  confirmed,  so  as  to  assure  the  power  of 
the  workers  over  the  exploiters. 

d.  With  reference  to  international  banking  and  fin- 
ance, the  third  Congress  of  Soviets  is  discussing  the 
Soviet  decree  regarding  the  annulment  of  loans  made 
by  the  Government  of  the  Czar,  by  landowners  and  the 
bourgeoisie,  and  it  trusts  that  the  Soviet  government  will 
firmly  follow  this  course  until  the  final  victory  of  the 
international  workers'  revolt  against  the  oppression  of 
capital. 

e.  The  transfer  of  all  banks  into  the  ownership  of 
the  Workers'  and  Peasants'  government,  as  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  liberation  of  the  toiling  masses  from 
the  yoke  of  capital,  is  confirmed. 

f.  Universal  obligation  to  work  is  introduced  for  the 
purpose  of  eliminating  the  parasitic  strata  of  society  and 
organizing  the  economic  life  of  the  country. 

g.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  working  classes 
in  the  possession  of  the  complete  power,  and  in  order  to 
eliminate  all  possibility  of  restoring  the  power  of  the 
exploiters,  it  is  decreed  that  all  toilers  be  armed,  and 
that  a  Socialist  "Red"  Army  be  organized  and  the  proper- 
tied class  be  disarmed. 


284  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Chapter  Three, 

4.  Expressing  its  absolute  resolve  to  liberate  mankind 
from  the  grip  of  capital  and  imperialism,  which  flooded 
the  earth  with  blood  in  this  present  most  criminal  of  all 
wars,  the  third  Congress  of  Soviets  fully  agrees  with 
the  Soviet  government  in  its  policy  of  breaking  secret 
treaties,  or  organizing  on  a  wide  scale  the  frater- 
nization of  the  workers  and  peasants  of  the  bel- 
ligerent armies,  and  of  making  all  efforts  to  conclude 
a  general  democratic  peace  without  annexations  or  in- 
demnities, upon  the  basis  of  the  free  determination  of 
the  people. 

5.  It  is  also  to  this  end  that  the  third  Congress  of 
Soviets  insists  upon  putting  an  end  to  the  barbarous 
policy  of  the  bourgeois  civilization  which  enables  the  ex- 
ploiters of  a  few  chosen  nations  to  enslave  hundreds  of 
millions  of  the  toiling  population  of  Asia,  of  the  colonies 
and  of  small  countries  generally. 

6.  The  third  Congress  of  Soviets  hails  the  policy  of 
the  Council  of  People's  Commissars  in  proclaiming  the 
full  independence  of  Finland,  in  withdrawing  troops 
from  Persia,  and  in  proclaiming  the  right  of  Armenia 
to  self-determination. 

Chapter  Four. 

7.  The  third  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  of 
Workers',  Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies  believes  that 
now,  during  the  progress  of  the  decisive  battle  between 
the  proletariat  and  its  exploiters,  the  exploiters  cannot 


APPENDICES  285 

hold  a  position  in  any  branch  of  the  Soviet  government. 
The  power  must  belong  entirely  to  the  toiling  masses  and 
to  their  plenipotentiary  representatives — the  Soviets  of 
Workers',  Soldiers'  and  Peasants'  Deputies. 

8.  In  its  effort  to  create  a  league — free  and  volun- 
tary, and  for  that  reason  all  the  more  complete  and 
secure — of  the  w^orking  classes  of  all  the  peoples  of  Rus- 
sia, the  third  Congress  of  Soviets  merely  establishes 
the  fundamental  principles  of  the  federation  of  Rus- 
sian Soviet  Republics,  leaving  to  the  workers  and 
peasants  of  every  people  to  decide  the  following 
question  at  their  plenary  sessions  of  their  Soviets ; 
whether  or  not  they  desire  to  participate,  and  on 
what  basis,  in  the  federal  government  and  other  federal 
Soviet  institutions. 

ARTICLE  TWO. 

General   Provision   of   the    Constitution  of  the  Russian  So- 
cialist  Federated   Soviet  Republic. 

Chapter  Five 

9.  The  fundamental  problem  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  involves, 
in  view  of  the  present  transition  period,  the  establish- 
ment of  a  dictatorship  of  the  urban  and  rural  proletariat 
and  the  poorest  peasantry  in  the  form  of  a  powerful 
All-Russian  Soviet  authority,  for  the  purpose  of  abol- 
ishing the  exploitation  of  men  by  men  and  of  introducing 
Socialism,  in  which  there  will  be  neither  a  division  into 
classes  nor  a  state  of  autocracy. 


286  THE  NEW  WORLD 

10.  The  Russian  Republic  is  a  free  Socialist  society 
of  all  the  working  people  of  Russia.  The  entire  power, 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated 
Soviet  Republic,  belongs  to  all  the  working  people  of 
Russia,  united  in  urban  and  rural  Soviets. 

11.  The  Soviets  of  those  regions  which  differentiate 
themselves  by  a  special  form  of  existence  and  national 
character  may  unite  in  autonomous  regional  unions, 
ruled  by  the  local  Congress  of  the  Soviets  and  their 
executive  organs. 

These  autonomous  regional  unions  participate  in  the 
Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  upon  the 
basis  of  a  federation. 

12.  The  supreme  power  of  the  Russian  Socialist 
Federated  Soviet  Republic  belongs  to  the  AU-Russian 
Congress  of  Soviets,  and,  to  the  All-Russian  Central 
Executive  Committee. 

13.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  to  the  toilers  real 
freedom  of  conscience,  the  church  is  to  be  separated 
from  the  state  and  the  school  from  the  church,  and  the 
right  of  religious  and  anti-religious  propaganda  is  ac- 
corded to  every  citizen. 

14.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  the  freedom  of  ex- 
pression to  the  toiling  masses,  the  Russian  Socialist  Fed- 
erated Soviet  Republic  abolishes  all  dependence  of  the 
press  upon  capital,  and  turns  over  to  the  working  people 
and  the  poorest  peasantry  all  technical  and  material 
means  of  publication  of  newspapers,  pamphlets,  books, 
etc.,  and  guarantees  their  free  circulation  throughout  the 
country. 


APPENDICES  287 

15.  For  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  workers  to  hold 
free  meetings,  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet 
Republic  offers  to  the  working  class  and  to  the  poorest 
peasantry  furnished  halls,  and  takes  care  of  their  heating 
and  lighting  appliances. 

16.  The  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic, 
having  crushed  the  economic  and  political  power  of  the 
propertied  classes  and  having  thus  abolished  all  obstacles 
which  interfered  with  the  freedom  of  organization  and 
action  of  the  workers  and  peasants,  offers  assistance, 
material  and  other,  to  the  workers  and  the  poorest  peas- 
antry in  their  effort  to  unite  and  organize. 

17.  For  the  purpose  of  guaranteeing  to  the  workers 
real  access  to  knowledge,  the  Russian  Socialist  Fede- 
rated Soviet  Republic  sets  itself  the  task  of  furnishing 
full  and  general  free  education  to  the  workers  and  the 
poorest  peasantry. 

18.  The  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic 
considers  work  the  duty  of  every  citizen  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  proclaims  as  its  motto :  "He  shall  not  eat  who 
does  not  work." 

19.  For  the  purpose  of  defending  the  victory  of  the 
great  peasants'  and  workers'  revolution,  the  Russian 
Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  recognizes  the  duty 
of  all  citizens  of  the  Republic  to  come  to  the  defense  of 
their  Socialist  Fatherland,  and  it,  therefore,  introduces 
universal  military  training.  The  honor  of  defending  the 
revolution  with  arms  is  given  only  to  the  toilers,  and  the 
non-toiling  elements  are  charged  with  the  performance 
of  other  military  duties. 


288  THE  NEW  WORLD 

20.  In  consequence  of  the  solidarity  of  the  toilers 
of  all  nations,  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet 
Republic  grants  all  political  rights  of  Russian  citizens  to 
foreigners  who  live  in  the  territory  of  the  Russian  Re- 
public and  are  engaged  in  toil  and  who  belong  to  the  toil- 
ing class.  The  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Re- 
public also  recognizes  the  right  of  local  Soviets  to  grant 
citizenship  to  such  foreigners  without  complicated  for- 
mality. 

21.  The  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Repub- 
lic, recognizing  equal  rights  of  all  citizens,  irrespective 
of  their  racial  or  national  connections,  proclaims  all  pri- 
vileges on  this  ground,  as  well  as  oppression  of  national 
minorities,  to  be  in  contradiction  with  the  fundamental 
laws  of  the  Republic. 

23.  Being  guided  by  the  interests  of  the  working 
class  as  a  whole,  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet 
Republic  deprives  all  individuals  and  groups  of  rights 
which  could  be  utilized  by  them  to  the  detriment  of  the 
Socialist  Revolution. 

ARTICLE  THREE. 
Construction  of  the  Soviet  Power. 
A.     Organization   of  the   Central   Power. 

Chapter  Six 

The  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  of  Workers',  Peasants', 
Cossacks'  and  Red  Army  Deputies. 

24.  The  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  is  composed 
of  representatives  of  urban  Soviets    (one  delegate  for 


APPENDICES  289 

25,000  voters),  and  of  representatives  of  the  provincial 
(Gubernia)  congresses  of  Soviets  (one  delegate  for  125,- 
000  inhabitants). 

Note  I.  In  case  the  Provincial  Congress  is  not  called 
before  the  AU-Russian  Congress  is  convoked,  delegates 
for  the  latter  are  sent  directly  from  the  country  (Ouezd) 
Congress. 

Note  2.  In  case  the  Regional  (Oblast)  Congress  is 
convoked  indirectly,  previous  to  the  convocation  of  the 
All-Russian  Congress,  delegates  for  the  latter  may  be 
sent  by  the  Regional  Congress. 

26.  The  All-Russian  Congress  is  convoked  by  the 
AU-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  at  least  twice 
a  year. 

2y.  A  special  All-Russian  Congress  is  convoked  by 
the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  upon  its 
own  initiative,  or  upon  the  request  of  local  Soviets  hav- 
ing not  less  than  one  third  of  the  entire  population  of 
the  Republic. 

28.  The  All-Russian  Congress  elects  an  All-Russian 
Central  Executive  Committee  of  not  more  than  200  mem- 
bers. 

29.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  is 
entirely  responsible  to  the  All-Russian  Congress  of  So- 
viets. 

30.  In  the  periods  between  the  convocation  of  the 
Congresses,  the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Commit- 
tee is  the  supreme  power  of  the  Republic. 


290  THE  NEW  WORLD 

Chapter  Seven 
The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 

31.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  is 
the  supreme  legislative,  executive,  and  controlling  organ 
of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

2,2.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
directs  in  a  general  way  the  activity  of  the  workers'  and 
peasants'  government  and  of  all  organs  of  the  Soviet 
authority  in  the  country,  and  it  coordinates  and  regulates 
the  operation  of  the  Soviet  Constitution  and  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  All-Russian  Congresses  and  of  the  central 
organs  of  the  Soviet  power. 

33.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
considers  and  enacts  all  measures  and  proposals  intro- 
duced by  the  Soviet  of  People's  Commissars  or  by  the 
various  departments,  and  it  also  issues  its  own  decrees 
and  regulations. 

34.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
convokes  the  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets,  at  which 
time  the  Executive  Committee  reports  on  its  activity  and 
on  general  questions. 

35.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
forms  a  Council  of  People's  Commissars  for  the  purpose 
of  general  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  Russian  So- 
cialist Federated  Soviet  Republic,  and  it  also  forms  de- 
partments (People's  Commissariats)  for  the  purpose  of 
conducting  various  branches. 


APPENDICES  291 

36.  The  members  of  the  All-Russian  Central  Execu- 
tive Committee  work  in  the  various  departments  (Peo- 
ple's Commissariats)  or  execute  special  orders  of  the 
All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 

Chapter  Eight 
The  Council  of  People's  Commissar. 

37.  The  Council  of  People's  Commissars  is  entrusted 
with  the  general  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  Rus- 
sian Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

38.  For  the  accomplishment  of  this  task  the  Council 
of  People's  Commissars  issues  decrees,  resolutions,  or- 
ders, and,  in  general,  takes  all  steps  necessary  for  the 
proper  and  rapid  conduct  of  government  affairs. 

39.  The  Council  of  People's  Commissars  notifies  im- 
mediately the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
of  all  its  orders  and  resolutions. 

40.  The  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee 
has  the  right  to  revoke  or  suspend  all  orders  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars. 

41.  All  orders  and  resolutions  of  the  Council  of  Peo- 
ple's Commissars  of  great  significance  are  turned  over 
for  considerational  and  final  approval  to  the  All-Russian 
Central  Executive  Committee. 

Note :  Measures  requiring  immediate  execution  may 
(be  enacted  directly  by  the  Council  of  People's  Commis- 
sars. 


292  THE  NEW  WORLD 

42.  The  members  of  the  Council  of  People's  Com- 
missars stand  at  the  head  of  the  various  People's  Com- 
missariats. 

43.  There  are  seventeen  People's  Commissars : 

a.  Foreign  Affairs. 

b.  Army.  > 

c.  Navy. 

d.  Interior. 

e.  Justice. 

f.  Labor. 

g.  Social  Welfare, 
h.  Education. 

i.  Post  and  Telegraph. 

j.  National  Affairs. 

k.  Finances. 

1.  Ways  of  Communication. 

m.  Agriculture. 

n.  Commerce  and  Industry. 

o.  National  Supplies. 

p.  State  Control. 

q.  Supreme  Soviet  of  National  Economy. 

r.  Public  Health. 

44.  Every  Commissar  has  a  College  (Committee)  of 
which  he  is  the  President,  and  the  members  of  which  are 
appointed  by  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars. 

45.  A  People's  Commissar  has  the  individual  right  to 
decide  all  questions  under  the  jurisdiction  of  his  Com- 


I 


APPENDICES  293 

missariat,  and  he  is  to  report  on  his  decision  to  the 
College.  If  the  College  does  not  agree  with  the  Com- 
missar on  some  decisions,  the  former  may,  without  stop- 
ping the  execution  of  the  decision,  complain  of  it  to  the 
executive  members  of  the  Council  of  People's  Commis- 
sars to  the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 
Individual  members  of  the  College  have  this  right  also. 

46.  The  Council  of  People's  Commissars  is  entirely 
responsible  to  the  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  and 
the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 

47.  The  People's  Commissars  and  the  Colleges  of  the 
People's  Commissariats  are  entirely  responsible  to  the 
Council  of  People's  Commissars  and  the  All-Russian 
Central  Executive  Committee. 

48.  The  title  of  People's  Commissar  belongs  only 
to  members  of  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars, 
which  is  in  charge  of  general  affairs  of  the  Russian  So- 
cialist Federated  Soviet  Republic,  and  it  cannot  be  used 
by  any  other  representative  of  the  Soviet  power,  either 
central  or  local. 

Chapter  Nine 

Affairs  in  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  All-Russian  Congress  and 
the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 

49.  The  All-Russian  Congress  and  the  All-Russian 
Central  Executive  Committee  deal  with  questions  of 
state,  such  as : 

a.  Ratification  and  amendment  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic, 


294  THE  NEW  WORLD 

b.  General  direction  of  the  entire  interior  and  for- 
eign policy  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet 
Republic. 

c.  EstabHshing  and  changing  boundaries,  also  ceding 
territory  belonging  to  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated 
Soviet  Republic. 

d.  Establishing  boundaries  for  regional  Soviet  unions 
belonging  to  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Re- 
public, also  settling  disputes  among  them. 

e.  Admission  of  new^  members  to  the  Russian  Social- 
ist Federated  Soviet  Republic,  and  recognition  of  the 
secession  of  any  part  of  it. 

f.  The  general  administrative  division  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  RepubUc 
and  the  approval  of  regional  unions. 

g.  Establishing  and  changing  of  w^eights,  measures 
and  money  denominations  in  the  Russian  Socialist  Fede- 
rated Soviet  Republic. 

h.  Foreign  relations,  declaration  of  war,  and  ratifica- 
tion of  peace  treaties. 

i.  Making  loans,  signing  commercial  treaties,  and 
financial  agreements. 

j.  Working  out  a  basis  and  a  general  plan  for  the 
national  economy  and  for  various  branches  in  the  Rus- 
sian Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

k.  Approval  of  the  budget  of  the  Russian  Socialist 
Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

1.  Levying  taxes  and  establishing  tlie  duties  of  citiz- 
ens to  the  state. 


APPENDICES  295 

m.  Establishing  the  bases  for  the  organization  of 
armed  forces. 

n.  State  legislation,  judicial  organization  and  proce- 
dure, civil  and  criminal  legislation,  etc. 

o.  Appointment  and  dismissal  of  the  individual  Peo- 
ple's Commissars  or  the  entire  Council ;  also  approval  of 
the  President  of  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars. 

p.  Granting  and  canceling  Russian  citizenship  and 
fixing  rights  of  foreigners. 

q.  The  right  to  declare  individual  and  general  am- 
nesty. 

50.  Besides  the  above-mentioned  questions,  the  All- 
Russian  Congress  of  the  All- Russian  Central  Executive 
Committee  have  charge  of  all  other  affairs  which  ac- 
cording to  their  decision,  require  their  attention, 

51.  The  following  questions  are  solely  under  the  ju- 
risdiction of  the  All-Russian  Congress : 

a.  Ratification  and  amendment  of  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Soviet  Constitution. 

b.  Ratification  of  peace  treaties. 

52.  The  decision  of  questions  indicated  in  Items  c 
and  h  of  Paragraph  49  may  be  made  by  the  All-Russian 
Central  Executive  Committee  only  in  case  it  is  impossible 
to  convoke  the  Congress. 

Chapter  Ten 

B.     Organization  of  the  Local  Soviets. 
The  Congress  of  the  Soviets. 

53.  Congresses  of  Soviets  are  composed  as  follows : 
a.     Regional:     Of  representatives  of  the  urban  and 


296  THE  NEW  WORLD 

county  Soviets,  one  representative  for  25,000  inhabitants 
of  the  county,  and  one  representative  for  5,000  voters 
of  the  cities — but  not  more  than  500  representatives  for 
the  entire  region — or  of  representatives  of  the  provi- 
sional Congresses,  chosen  on  the  same  basis,  if  such  a 
Congress  meets  before  the  regional  Congress. 

b.  Provincial  (Gubemia)  :  Of  representatives  of 
urban  and  rural  (Volost)  Soviets,  one  representative  for 
10,000  inhabitants  from  the  rural  districts,  and  one  rep- 
resentative for  2,000  voters  in  the  city;  altogether  not 
more  than  300  representatives  for  the  entire  province. 
In  case  the  county  Congress  meets  before  the  provincial, 
election  takes  place  on  the  same  basis,  but  by  the  county 
Congress  instead  of  the  rural. 

c.  County:  Of  representatives  of  rural  Soviets,  one 
delegate  for  each  1,000  inhabitants,  but  not  more  than 
300  delegates  for  the  entire  county. 

d.  Rural:  (Volost)  :  Of  representatives  of  all  vil- 
lage Soviets  in  the  Volost  one  delegate  for  ten  members 
of  the  Soviet. 

Note  I.  Representatives  of  urban  Soviets  which  have 
a  population  of  not  more  than  10,000  persons  participate 
in  the  county  Congress;  village  Soviets  of  districts  of 
less  than  1,000  inhabitants  unite  for  the  purpose  of  elect- 
ing delegates  to  the  county  Congress. 

Note  2.  Rural  Soviets  of  less  than  ten  members  send 
one  delegate  to  the  rural  (Volost)  Congress. 

54.  Congresses  of  the  Soviets  are  convoked  by  the 
respective  Executive  Committees  upon  their  own  initia- 
tive, or  upon  request  of  local  Soviets  comprising  not  less 


APPENDICES  297 

than  one  third  of  the  entire  population  of  the  given  dis- 
trict. In  any  case  they  are  convoked  at  least  twice  a 
year  for  regions,  every  three  months  for  provinces  and 
counties,  and  once  a  month  for  rural  districts. 

55.  Every  Congress  of  Soviets  (regional,  provincial,, 
county  and  rural)  elects  its  Executive  organ — ^an  Execu- 
tive Committee  the  membership  of  which  shall  not  ex- 
ceed : 

(a)  For  regions  and  provinces,  25  ;  (b)  for  a  county^ 
20;  (c)  for  a  rural  district,  10.  The  Executive  Com- 
mittee is  responsible  to  the  congress  which  elected  it. 

56.  In  the  boundaries  of  the  respective  territories  the. 
Congress  is  the  supreme  power ;  during  intervals  between 
the  convocations  of  the  Congress,  the  executive  Commit- 
tee is  the  supreme  power. 

Chapter  Eleven. 
The  Soviets  of  Deputies. 

57.  Soviets  of  Deputies  are  formed: 

a.  In  cities,  one  deputy  for  each  1,000  inhabitants;, 
the  total  to  be  not  less  than  50  and  not  more  than  i,ooa 
members. 

b.  All  other  settlements  (towns,  villages,  hamlets,, 
etc.)  of  lesjotbaia  10,000  inhabitants,  one  deputy  for 
each  100  inhabit^e^i;  the  total  to  be  not  less  than  3  and 
not  more  than  50  deputies  for  each  settlement. 

Term  of  the  deputy,  three  months. 
Note:     In  small  rural  sections,  whenever  possible,  all 
questions  shall  be  decided  at  general  meetings  of  voters. 


298  THE  NEW  WORLD 

58.  The  Soviets  of  Deputies  elects  an  Executive 
Committee  to  deal  with  current  affairs ;  not  more  than  5 
members  for  rural  districts,  one  for  every  50  members 
of  the  Soviets  of  cities,  but  not  more  than  15  and  not 
less  than  3  in  the  aggregate  (Petrograd  and  Moscow 
not  more  than  40).  The  Executive  Committee  is  en- 
tirely responsible  to  the  Soviet  which  elected  it. 

59.  The  Soviet  of  Deputies  is  convoked  by  the  Exe- 
cutive Committee  upon  its  own  initiative,  or  upon  the 
request  of  not  less  than  one  half  of  the  membership  of 
the  Soviet ;  in  any  case  at  least  once  a  week  in  cities,  and 
twice  a  week  in  rural  sections. 

60.  Within  its  jurisdiction  the  Soviet,  and  the  cases 
mentioned  in  Paragraph  57.  Note,  the  meeting  of  the 
voters,  is  the  supreme  power  in  the  given  district. 

Chapter  Twelve. 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Local  Organs  of  the  Soviets. 

61.  Regional,  provincial,  county,  and  rural  organs  of 
the  Soviet  power  and  also  the  Soviets  of  Deputies  have 
to  perform  the  following  duties : 

a.  Carry  out  all  orders  of  the  respective  higher  or- 
gans of  the  Soviet  power. 

b.  Take  all  steps  towards  raising  the  cultural  and 
economic  standards  of  the  given  territory. 

c.  Decide  all  questions  of  local  importance  within 
their  respective  territory. 

d.  Coordinate  all  Soviet  activity  in  their  respective 
territory. 


APPENDICES  299 

62.  The  Congresses  of  Soviets  and  their  Executive 
Committees  have  the  right  to  control  the  activity  of  the 
local  Soviets  (i.  e.,  the  regional  Congress  controls  all  So- 
viets of  the  respective  regions;  the  provincial  of  the 
respective  province,  with  the  exception  of  the  urban 
Soviets,  etc.)  ;  and  the  regional  and  provincial  Con- 
gresses and  their  Executive  Committees  in  addition  have 
the  right  to  overrule  the  decisions  of  the  Soviets  of  their 
districts,  giving  notice  in  important  cases  to  the  central 
Soviet  authority. 

62,-  For  the  purpose  of  performing  their  duties,  the 
local  Soviets,  rural  and  urban,  and  the  Executive  Com- 
mittees form  sections  respectively. 

ARTICLE  FOUR. 
The  Right  to  Vote. 

Chapter  Thirteen. 

64.  The  right  to  vote  and  to  be  elected  to  the  Soviets 
is  enjoyed  by  the  following  citizens,  irrespective  of  reli- 
gion, nationality,  domicile,  etc.,  of  the  Russian  Socialist 
Federated  Soviet  Republic,  of  both  sexes,  who  shall  have 
completed  their  eighteenth  year  by  the  day  of  election: 

a.  All  who  have  acquired  the  means  of  living  through 
labor  that  is  productive  and  useful  to  society,  and  also 
persons  engaged  in  housekeeping,  which  enables  the 
former  to  do  productive  work,  i.  e.,  laborers  and  em- 
ployees of  all  classes  who  are  employed  in  industry, 
trade,  agriculture,  etc.,  and  peasants  and  Cossacks,  agri- 


300  THE  NEW  WORLD 

cultural  laborers  who  employ  no  help  for  the  purpose  of 
making  profits. 

b.  Soldiers  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  Soviets. 

c.  Citizens  of  the  two  preceding  categories  who  have 
to  any  degree  lost  their  capacity  to  work. 

Note  I :  Local  Soviets  may,  upon  approval  of  tlie 
central  power,  lower  the  age  standard  mentioned  herein. 

Note  2 :  Non-citizens  mentioned  in  Paragraph  20 
(Article  Two,  Chapter  Five)  have  the  right  to  vote. 

65.  The  following  persons  enjoy  neither  the  right 
to  vote  nor  the  right  to  be  voted  for,  even  though  they 
belong  to  one  of  the  categories  enumerated  above, 
namely : 

a.  Persons  who  employ  hired  labor  in  order  to  obtain 
from  it  an  increase  in  profits. 

b.  Persons  who  have  an  income  without  doing  any 
work,  such  as  interest  from  capital,  receipts  from  prop- 
erty, etc. 

c.  Private  merchants,  trade  and  commercial  brokers. 

d.  Monks  of  clergy  of  all  denominations. 

e.  Employees  and  agents  of  the  former  police,  the 
gendarme  corps,  and  the  Okhrana  (Czar's  secret  ser- 
vice), also  members  of  the  former  reigning  dynasty. 

f.  Persons  who  have  in  legal  form  been  declared  de- 
mented or  mentally  deficient,  and  also  persons  under 
guardianship. 

g.  Persons  who  have  been  deprived  by  a  Soviet  of 
their  rights  of  citizenship  because  of  selfish  or  dishonor- 
able offenses,  for  the  period  fixed  by  the  sentence. 


APPENDICES  301 

Chapter  Fourteen. 
Elections. 

(^.  Elections  are  conducted  according  to  custom  on 
days  fixed  by  the  local  Soviets. 

dy.  Election  takes  place  in  the  presence  of  an  electing 
committee  and  the  representative  of  the  local  Soviet. 

68.  In  case  the  representative  of  the  Soviet  cannot 
be  present  for  valid  causes,  the  chairman  of  the  electing 
committee  takes  his  place,  and  in  case  the  latter  is  ab- 
sent, the  chairman  of  the  election  meeting  replaces  him. 

69.  Minutes  of  the  proceedings  and  results  of  elec- 
tions are  to  be  compiled  and  signed  by  the  members  of 
the  electing  committee  and  the  representative  of  the 
Soviet. 

70.  Detailed  instructions  regarding  the  election  pro- 
ceedings and  the  participation  in  them  of  professional 
and  other  workers'  organizations  are  to  be  issued  by  the 
local  Soviets,  according  to  the  instructions  of  the  All- 
Russian  Central  Executive  Committee. 

Chapter  Fifteen. 

The   Checking  and   Cancellation  of  Elections  and  Recall  of 
the  Deputies. 

71.  The  respective  Soviets  receive  all  the  records  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  election. 

72.  The  Soviet  appoints  a  commission  to  verify  the 
elections. 

73.  This  commission  reports  on  the  results  to  the 
Soviets. 


302  THE  NEW  WORLD 

74,  The  Soviet  decides  the  question  when  there  is 
doubt  as  to  which  candidate  is  elected. 

75.  The  Soviet  announces  a  new  election  if  the  elec- 
tion of  one  candidate  or  another  cannot  be  determined. 

'jG.  If  an  election  was  irregularly  carried  on  in  its 
entirety,  it  may  be  declared  void  by  a  higher  Soviet 
authority. 

"jj.  The  highest  authority  in  relation  to  questions  of 
elections  is  the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Commit- 
tee. 

78.  Voters  who  have  sent  a  deputy  to  the  Soviet  have 
the  right  to  recall  him,  and  to  have  a  new  election  ac- 
cording to  general  provision. 

ARTICLE  FIVE. 
The  Budget. 

79.  The  financial  policy  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Fed- 
erated Soviet  Republic  in  the  present  transition  period 
of  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat,  facilitates  the  funda- 
mental purpose  of  expropriation  of  the  bourgeoisie  and 
the  preparation  of  conditions  necessary  for  the  equality 
of  all  citizens  of  Russia  in  the  production  and  distribu- 
tion of  wealth.  To  this  end  it  sets  forth  as  its  task  the 
supplying  of  the  organs  of  the  Soviet  power  with  all 
necessary  funds  for  local  and  state  needs  of  the  Soviet 
Republic,  without  regard  to  private  property  rights. 

80.  The  state  expenditures  and  income  of  the  Rus- 
sian Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  are  combined 
in  the  state  budget. 

81.  The  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets  or  the  All- 


APPENDICES  303 

Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  determines  what 
matters  of  income  and  taxation  siiall  go  to  the  state 
budget  and  what  shall  go  to  the  local  Soviets ;  they  also 
set  the  limits  of  taxes. 

82.  The  Soviets  levy  taxes  only  for  the  local  needs. 
The  state  needs  are  covered  by  the  funds  of  the  state 
treasury. 

83.  No  expenditure  out  of  the  state  treasury  not  set 
forth  in  the  budget  of  income  and  expense  shall  be  made 
without  a  special  order  of  the  central  power. 

84.  The  local  Soviets  shall  receive  credits  from  the 
proper  People's  Commissars  out  of  the  state  treasury, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  expenditures  for  general  state 
needs. 

85.  All  credits  allotted  to  the  Soviets  from  the  state 
treasury,  and  also  credits  approved  for  local  needs,  must 
be  expended  according  to  the  estimates,  and  cannot  be 
used  for  any  other  purposes  without  a  special  order  of 
the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  and  the 
Soviet  of  People's  Commissars. 

86.  Local  Soviets  draw  up  semiannual  and  annual 
estimates  of  income  and  expenditure  for  local  needs. 
The  estimates  of  urban  and  rural  Soviets  participating 
in  county  congresses,  and  also  the  estimates  of  the 
county  organs  of  the  Soviet  power,  are  to  be  approved 
by  provincial  and  regional  congresses  or  by  their  execu- 
tive committees;  the  estimates  of  the  urban,  provincial, 
and  regional  organs  of  the  Soviets  are  to  be  approved 
by  the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee  and 
the  Council  of  People's  Commissars. 


304  THE  NEW  WORLD 

87.  The  Soviets  may  ask  for  additional  credits  from 
the  respective  People's  Commissariats  for  expenditures 
not  set  forth  in  the  estimate,  or  where  the  allotted  sum 
is  insufficient. 

88.  In  case  of  an  insufficiency  of  local  funds  for 
local  needs,  the  necessary  subsidy  may  be  obtained  from 
the  state  treasury  by  applying  to  the  All-Russian  Central 
Executive  or  the  Council  of  People's  Commissars. 

ARTICLE  SIX. 

The  Coat  of  Arms  and  Flag  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Feder- 
ated Soviet  Republic. 

Chapter  Seventeen 

89.  The  coat  of  arms  of  the  Russian  Socialist  Feder- 
ated Soviet  Republic  consists  of  a  red  background  on 
"which  a  golden  scythe  and  a  hammer  are  placed  (cross- 
wise, handles  downward)  in  sun-rays  and  surrounded 
by  a  wreath,  inscribed : 

Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic 
Workers  of  the  World,  Unite! 

90.  The  commercial,  naval,  and  army  flag  of  the  Rus- 
sian Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  consists  of  a 
red  cloth,  in  the  left  hand  corner  of  which  (on  top, 
near  the  pole)  there  are  in  golden  characters  the  letters 
R.  S.  F.  S.  R.,  on  the  inscription :  Russian  Socialist 
Federated  Soviet  Republic. 

Chairman  of  the  fifth  All-Russian  Congress  of  Soviets 
and  the  AU-Russian  Central  Executive  Committee — J. 
Severdloflf. 


APPENDICES  305 

Executive  Officers — All-Russian  Central  Executive 
Committee:  T.  I.  Teedorowitch,  F.  A.  Rosin,  A.  P. 
Rosenholz,  A.  C.  Mitrofanoff,  K.  C.  Maxinoff. 

Secretary  of  the  All-Russian  Central  Executive  Com- 
mittee— V.  A.  Avanessoff. 


\PPENDIX  IV 

CONSTITUTION      OF     THE     UNITED      STATES     OF 
AMERICA 

WE  THE  PEOPLE  of  the  United  States,  in  order 
to  form  a  more  perfect  Union,  establish  Justice,  insure 
domestic  Tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence, 
promote  the  general  Welfare,  and  secure  the  Blessings 
of  Liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  Posterity,  do  ordain  and 
establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States  o£ 
America. 

ARTICLE  I.— (Section  i.)  i.  All  legislative  Pow- 
ers herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives. 

(Section  2.)  i.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
be  composed  of  Members  chosen  every  second  Year  by 
the  People  of  the  several  States,  and  the  Electors  in  each 
State  shall  have  the  Qualifications  requisite  for  Electors 
of  the  most  numerous  Branch  of  the  State  Legislature. 

2.  No  Person  shall  be  a  Representative  who  shall  not 
have  attained  to  the  Age  of  twenty-five  Years,  and  been 
seven  Years  a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who 
shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  in 
which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

306 


APPENDICES  307 

3.  Representatives  and  direct  Taxes  shall  be  appor- 
tioned among  the  several  States  which  may  be  included 
within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respective  Numbers, 
which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  Num- 
ber of  free  Persons,  including  those  bound  to  Service 
for  a  Term  of  Years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed, 
three-fifths  of  all  other  Persons.  The  actual  Enumera- 
tion shall  be  made  within  three  Years  after  the  first  Meet- 
ing of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  Term  of  ten  years,  in  such  Manner  as 
they  shall  by  Law  direct.  The  Number  of  Representa- 
tives shall  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  Thousand,  but 
each  State  shall  have  at  Least  one  Representative;  and 
until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire  shall  be  entitled  to  chuse  three,  Massachu- 
setts eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations 
one,  Connecticut  five.  New  York  six.  New  Jersey  four, 
Pennsylvania  eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virgi- 
nia ten,  North  Carolina  five.  South  Carolina  five  and 
Georgia  three. 

4.  When  Vacancies  happen  in  the  Representation 
from  any  State,  the  Executive  Authority  thereof  shall 
issue  Writs  of  Election  to  fill  such  Vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  chuse  their 
Speaker  and  other  Officers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  Pow- 
er of  Impeachment. 

(Section  3.)  i.  The  Senate  of  the  United  States 
shall  be  composed  of  two  Senators  from  each  State, 
chosen  by  the  Legislature  thereof,  for  six  Years ;  and 
each  Senator  shall  have  one  Vote. 


3o8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled  in  Con- 
sequence of  the  first  Election,  they  shall  be  divided  as 
equally  as  may  be  into  three  Classes.  The  Seats  of  the 
Senators  of  the  first  Class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  Expi- 
ration of  the  second  Year,  of  the  Second  Class  at  the  Ex- 
piration of  the  fourth  Year,  and  the  third  Class  at  the 
Expiration  of  the  sixth  Year;  so  that  one  third  may  be 
chosen  every  second  Year;  and  if  Vacancies  happen  by 
Resignation  or  otherwise,  during  the  Recess  of  the  Leg- 
islature of  any  State,  the  Executive  thereof  may  make 
temporar}'^  Appointments  until  the  next  Meeting  of  the 
Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  Vacancies. 

3.  No  Person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have 
attained  to  the  Age  of  thirty  Years,  and  been  nine  Years 
a  Citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall  not,  when 
elected,  be  an  Inhabitant  of  that  State  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  shall  be 
President  of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  Vote,  unless 
they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  chuse  their  other  Officers,  and 
also  a  President  pro  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice 
President,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  Office  of  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  Power  to  try  all 
Impeachments.  When  sitting  for  that  Purpose,  they 
shall  be  on  Oath  or  Affirmation.  When  the  President 
of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Justice  shall  pre- 
side: And  no  Person  shall  be  convicted  without  the 
Concurrence  of  two  thirds  of  the  Members  present. 


APPENDICES  309 

7.  Judgment  in  Cases  of  Impeachment  shall  not  ex- 
tend further  than  to  removal  from  Office,  and  disqualifi- 
cation to  hold  and  enjoy  any  Office  of  honor,  Trust,  or 
Profit  under  the  United  States ;  but  the  Party  convicted 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  Indictment, 
Trial,  Judgment  and  Punishment,  according  to  Law. 

(Section  4.)  i.  The  Times,  Places  and  Manner  of 
holding  Elections  for  Senators  and  Representatives,  shall 
be  prescribed  in  each  State  by  the  Legislature  thereof; 
but  the  Congress  may  at  any  time  by  Law  make  or  alter 
such  Regulations,  except  as  to  the  Places  of  chusing 
Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every 
Year,  and  such  Meeting  shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in 
December,  unless  they  shall  by  Law  appoint  a  different 
Day. 

(Section  5.)  i.  Each  House  shall  be  the  Judge  of 
the  Elections,  Returns  and  Qualifications  of  its  own 
Members,  and  a  Majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
Quorum  to  do  Business :  but  a  smaller  Number  may  ad- 
journ from  day  to  day,  and  be  authorized  to  compel  the 
Attendance  of  absent  Members,  in  such  Manner,  and 
under  such  Penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  Rules  of  its  Pro- 
ceedings, punish  its  Members  for  disorderly  Behavior, 
and,  with  the  Concurrence  of  two  thirds,  expel  a 
Member, 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  Journal  of  its  Proceed- 
ings, and  from  time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting 
such  Parts  as  may  in  their  Judgment  require  Secrecy; 


3IO  THE  NEW  WORLD 

and  the  Yeas  and  Nays  of  the  Members  of  either  House 
on  any  question  shall,  at  the  Desire  of  one  fifth  of  those 
Present,  be  entered  on  the  Journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  Session  of  Congress, 
shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more 
than  three  days,  nor  to  any  other  Place  than  that  in 
which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

(Section  6.)  i.  The  Senators  and  Representatives 
shall  receive  a  Compensation  for  their  Services,  to  be 
ascertained  by  Law,  and  paid  out  of  the  Treasury  of 
the  United  States.  They  shall  in  all  Cases,  except  Trea- 
son, Felony  and  Breach  of  Peace,  be  privileged  from 
Arrest  during  their  Attendance  at  the  Session  of  their 
respective  Houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from 
the  same ;  and  for  any  Speech  or  Debate  in  either  House, 
they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  Place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the 
Time  for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any 
civil  Office  under  the  Authority  of  the  United  States, 
which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  Emoluments 
whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time ;  and 
no  Person  holding  any  Office  under  the  United  States, 
shall  be  a  member  of  either  House  during  his  Continu- 
ance in  Office. 

(Section  7.)  i.  All  Bills  for  raising  Revenue  shall 
originate  in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  but  the  Sen- 
ate may  propose  or  concur  with  Amendments  as  on  other 
Bills. 

2.  Every  Bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives  and  the  Senate,  shall,  before  it  becomes 


APPENDICES  311 

a  Law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States ;  If  he  approve  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not  he  shall 
return  it,  with  his  Objections,  to  that  House  in  which  it 
shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the  Objections  at 
large  on  their  Journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If 
after  such  Reconsideration  two  thirds  of  that  House 
shall  agree  to  pass  the  Bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with 
the  Objections,  to  the  other  House,  by  which  it  shall 
likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two  thirds 
of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  Law.  But  in  all  such 
Cases  the  Votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by 
Yeas  and  Nays,  and  the  Names  of  the  Persons  voting 
for  and  against  the  Bill  shall  be  entered  on  the  Journal 
of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  Bill  shall  not  be  re- 
turned by  the  President  within  ten  Days  (Sunday  ex- 
cepted) after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the 
Same  shall  be  a  Law,  in  like  Manner  as  if  he  had  signed 
it,  unless  the  Congress  by  their  Adjournment  prevent  its 
Return,  in  which  Case  it  shall  not  be  a  Law. 

3,  Every  Order,  Resolution,  or  Vote  to  which  the 
Concurrence  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  Ad- 
journment), shall  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States ;  and  before  the  Same  shall  take  Effect, 
shall  be  approved  by  him,  or  being  disapproved  by  him, 
shall  be  repassed  by  two  thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives,  according  to  the  Rules  and  Limita- 
tions prescribed  in  the  Case  of  a  Bill. 

(Section  8.)  i.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  To 
lay  and  collect  Taxes,  Duties,  Imposts  and  Excises,  to 


312  THE  NEW  WORLD 

pay  the  Debts  and  provide  for  the  common  Defence  and 
general  Welfare  of  the  United  States;  but  all  Duties, 
Imposts  and  Excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the 
United  States; 

2.  To  borrow  Money  on  credit  of  the  United  States ; 

3.  To  regulate  Commerce  with  foreign  Nations,  and 
among  the  several  States,  and  with  the  Indian  Tribes ; 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  Rule  of  Naturalization, 
and  uniform  Laws  on  the  subject  of  Bankruptcies 
throughout  the  United  States ; 

5.  To  coin  Money,  regulate  the  Value  thereof,  and 
of  foreign  Coin  and  fix  the  Standard  of  Weights  and 
Measures; 

6.  To  provide  for  the  Punishment  of  counterfeiting 
the  Securities  and  current  Coin  of  the  United  States ; 

7.  To  establish  Post-Offices  and  post  Roads; 

8.  To  promote  the  Progress  of  Science  and  useful 
Arts,  by  securing  for  limited  Times  to  Authors  and  In- 
ventors the  exclusive  right  to  their  respective  Writings 
and  Discoveries; 

9.  To  constitute  Tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme 
Court; 

10.  To  define  and  punish  Piracies  and  Felonies  com- 
mitted on  the  high  Seas,  and  Offenses  against  the  Law 
of  Nations; 

11.  To  declare  War,  grant  Letters  of  Marque  and 
Reprisal,  and  make  Rules  concerning  Captures  on  Land 
and  Water; 

12.  To  raise  and  support  Armies,  but  no  Appropria- 


APPENDICES  313 

tion  of  Money  to  that  Use  shall  be  for  a  longer  Term 
than  two  Years ; 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  Navy; 

14.  To  make  Rules  for  the  Government  and  Regu- 
lation of  the  land  and  naval  Forces; 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  Militia  to  exe- 
cute the  Laws  of  the  Union,  suppress  Insurrection  and 
repel  Invasions; 

16.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplin- 
ing the  Militia,  and  for  governing  such  Part  of  them  as 
may  be  employed  in  the  Service  of  the  United  States, 
reserving  to  the  States  respectively,  the  Appointment  of 
the  Officers,  and  the  Authority  of  training  the  Militia 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress ; 

17.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation  in  all  Cases 
whatsoever,  over  such  District  (not  exceeding  ten 
Miles  square)  as  may,  by  Cession  of  particular  States, 
and  the  Acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  Seat  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  and  to  exercise  like 
Authority  over  all  Places  purchased  by  the  Consent  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  in  which  the  Same  shall  be, 
for  the  Erection  of  Forts,  Magazines,  Arsenals,  dock- 
Yards,  and  other  needful  Buildings ; — And 

18.  To  make  all  Laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  Execution  the  foregoing  Pow- 
ers, and  all  other  Powers  vested  by  this  Constitution  in 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  Depart- 
ment or  Officer  thereof. 

(Section  9.)  i.  The  Migration  or  Importation  of 
such  Persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing  shall 


-314  THE  NEW  WORLD 

think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
Congress  prior  to  the  Year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eight,  but  a  Tax  or  duty  may  be  imposed  on  such 
Importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each  Person. 

2.  The  Privilege  of  the  Writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  shall 
not  be  suspended,  unless  when  in  Cases  of  Rebellion  or 
Invasion  the  public  Safety  may  require  it. 

3.  No  Bill  of  Attainder,  or  ex  post  facto  Law  shall 
be  passed. 

4.  No  Capitation  or  other  direct  Tax  shall  be  laid, 
unless  in  Proportion  to  the  Census  or  Enumeration  here- 
in before  directed  to  be  taken. 

5.  No  Tax  or  Duty  shall  be  laid  on  Articles  exported 
from  any  State. 

6.  No  Preference  shall  be  given  by  any  Regulation 
of  Commerce  or  Revenue  to  the  Ports  of  one  State  over 
those  of  another;  nor  shall  Vessels  bound  to,  or  from, 
one  State,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  Duties,  in 
another. 

7.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury,  but 
in  Consequence  of  Appropriations  made  by  Law ;  and  a 
regular  Statement  and  Account  of  the  Receipts  and  Ex- 
penditures of  all  public  Money  shall  be  published  from 
time  to  time. 

8.  No  Title  of  Nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United 
States :  And  no  Person  holding  any  Office  of  Profit  or 
Trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Con- 
gress, accept  of  any  present.  Emolument,  Office,  or  Title, 
of  any  kind  whatever,  from  any  King,  Prince,  or  for- 
eign State. 


APPENDICES  315 

(Section  10.)  '  I.  No  State  shall  enter  into  any 
Treaty,  Alliance  or  Confederation;  grant  Letters  of, 
Marque  and  Reprisal;  coin  Money;  emit  Bills  of  Credit; 
make  any  Thing  but  gold  and  silver  Coin  a  Tender  in 
Payment  of  Debts ;  pass  any  Bill  of  Attainder,  ex  post 
facto  Law,  or  Law  impairing  the  Obligation  of  Con- 
tracts, or  grant  any  title  of  Nobility. 

2.  No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  the  Con- 
gress, lay  any  Imposts  or  Duties  on  Imports  or  Exports, 
except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing 
its  inspection  Laws ;  and  the  net  Produce  of  all  Duties 
and  Imposts,  laid  by  any  State  on  Imports  or  Exports, 
shall  be  for  the  Use  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United 
States;  and  all  such  Laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  Revi- 
sion and  Control  of  the  Congress. 

3.  No  State  shall,  without  the  Consent  of  Congress, 
lay  any  Duty  of  Tonnage,  keep  Troops  or  Ships  of  War, 
in  time  of  Peace,  enter  into  any  Agreement  or  Com- 
pact with  another  State,  or  with  a  foreign  Power,  or 
Engage  in  War,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  immi- 
nent Danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 

ARTICLE  II.— (Section  i.)  i.  The  Executive 
Power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  Term  of 
four  years,  and,  together  with  the  Vice  President,  chosen 
for  the  same  Term,  be  elected  as  follows : 

2.  Each  State  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the 
Legislature  thereof  may  direct,  a  Number  of  Electors, 
equal  to  the  whole  Number  of  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives to  which  the  State  may  be  entitled  in  the  Congress; 


3i6  THE  NEW  WORLD 

but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  Person  holding  an 
Office  of  Trust  or  Profit  under  the  United  States,  shall 
be  appointed  an  Elector. 

3.  The  Electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  States, 
and  vote  by  Ballot  for  two  Persons,  of  whom  one  at 
least  shall  not  be  an  Inhabitant  of  the  same  State  with 
themselves.  And  they  shall  make  a  List  of  all  the  Per- 
sons voted  for,  and  of  the  Number  of  Votes  for  each; 
which  List  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit 
sealed  to  the  Seat  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate.  The 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  Presence  of  the  Sen- 
ate and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  Certi- 
ficates, and  the  Votes  shall  then  be  counted.  The  Person 
having  the  greatest  number  of  Votes  shall  be  the  Presi- 
dent, if  such  Number  be  a  Majority  of  the  whole  Num- 
ber of  Electors  appointed ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one 
who  have  such  a  Majority,  and  have  an  equal  Number  of 
Votes,  then  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  imme- 
diately chuse,  by  Ballot  one  of  them  for  President;  and 
if  no  Person  have  a  Majority,  then  from  the  five  highest 
on  the  List,  the  said  House  shall  in  like  manner  chuse 
the  President.  But  in  chusing  the  President,  the  Votes 
shall  be  taken  by  States,  the  Representation  from  each 
State  having  one  vote ;  A  quorum  for  this  Purpose  shall 
consist  of  a  Member  or  Members  from  two  thirds  of 
the  States,  and  a  Majority  of  all  the  States  shall  be 
necessary  to  a  Choice.  In  every  Case,  after  the  Choice 
of  the  President,  the  Person  having  the  greatest  Number 
of  Votes  of  the  Electors  shall  be  the  Vice  President, 


APPENDICES  317 

But  if  there  should  remain  two  or  more  who  have  equal 
Votes,  the  Senate  shall  chuse  from  them  by  Ballot  the 
Vice-President. 

4.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  Time  of  chusing 
the  Electors,  and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their 
Votes ;  which  Day  shall  be  the  same  throughout  the 
United  States. 

5.  No  Person  except  a  natural-born  Citizen,  or  a  Cit- 
izen of  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  the  Adoption 
of  this  Constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  Office  of 
President ;  neither  shall  any  Person  be  eligible  to  that 
Office  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  age  of  thirty- 
five  Years,  and  been  fourteen  Years  a  Resident  within 
the  United  States, 

6.  In  Case  of  the  Removal  of  the  President  from 
Office,  or  of  his  Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  to  dis- 
charge the  Powers  and  Duties  of  the  said  Office,  the 
Same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice  President,  and  the  Con- 
gress may  by  Law  provide  for  the  Case  of  Removal, 
Death,  Resignation,  or  Inability  both  of  the  President 
and  Vice  President,  declaring  what  Officer  shall  then  act 
as  President,  and  such  Officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until 
the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

7.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  Times,  receive  for 
his  Services,  a  Compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  In- 
creased nor  diminished  during  the  Period  for  which  he 
shall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive  within 
that  Period,  any  other  Emolument  from  the  United 
States,  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enter  on  the  Execution  of  his  Office  he 


3i8  THE  NEW  WORLD 

shall  take  the  following  Oath  or  Affirmation : — "I  do  sol- 
emnly swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute 
the  Office  of  President  of  the  United  States,  and  will, 
to  the  best  of  my  Ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

(Section  2.)  i.  The  President  shall  be  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  Militia  of  the  several  States,  when  called  into 
the  actual  Service  of  the  United  States ;  he  may  require 
the  Opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  Officer  in  each 
of  the  Executive  Departments,  upon  any  Subject  relat- 
ing to  the  duties  of  their  respective  Offices,  and  he  shall 
have  Power  to  grant  Reprieves  and  Pardons  for  Of- 
fences against  the  United  States,  except  in  Cases  of 
Impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  Power,  by  and  with  the  Advice  and 
Consent  of  the  Senate,  to  make  Treaties,  provided  two- 
thirds  of  the  Senators  present  concur ;  and  he  shall  nom- 
inate, and  by  and  with  the  Advice  and  Consent  of  the 
Senate,  shall  appoint  Ambassadors,  other  Public  Minis- 
ters, and  Consuls,  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  all 
other  Officers  of  the  United  States,  whose  Appointments 
are  not  herein  otherwise  provided  for,  and  which  shall 
be  established  by  Law;  but  the  Congress  may  by  Law 
vest  the  Appointment  of  such  inferior  Officers,  as  they 
think  proper,  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  Courts  of 
Law,  or  in  the  Heads  of  Departments. 

3.  The  President  shall  have  Power  to  fill  up  all  Va- 
cancies that  may  happen  during  the  Recess  of  the  Senate, 


APPENDICES  319 

by  granting  Commissions  which  shall  expire  at  the  End 
of  the  next  Session. 

(Section  3.)  i.  He  shall  from  time  to  time  give  to 
the  Congress  Information  of  the  State  of  the  Union,  and 
recommend  to  their  Consideration  such  Measures  as  he 
shall  judge  necessar}^  and  expedient;  he  may,  on  extra- 
ordinar}'-  Occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of 
them,  and  in  Case  of  Disagreement  between  them,  with 
Respect  to  the  time  of  Adjournment,  he  may  adjourn 
them  to  such  Time  as  he  shall  think  proper;  he  shall  re- 
ceive Ambassadors  and  other  Public  Ministers;  he  shall 
take  care  that  the  Laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall 
commission  all  the  Officers  of  the  United  States. 

(Section  4.)  i.  The  President,  Vice  President,  and 
all  civil  Officers  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  removed 
from  Office  on  Impeachment  for,  and  Conviction  of, 
Treason,  Bribery,  or  other  high  Crimes  and  Mis- 
demeanors. 

ARTICLE  III.— (Section  i.)  i.  The  judicial  Power 
of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one  supreme 
Court,  and  in  such  inferior  Courts  as  the  Congress  may, 
from  time  to  time,  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges, 
both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  Courts,  shall  hold  their 
Offices  during  good  Behavior,  and  shall,  at  stated 
Times,  receive  for  their  Services  a  Compensation,  which 
shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  Continuance  in 
Office. 

(Section  2.)  I.  The  Judicial  Power  shall  extend  to 
all  Cases,  in  Law  and  Equity,  arising  under  this  Consti- 
tution, the   Laws   of  the  United   States,    and  Treaties 


320  THE  NEW  WORLD 

made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  Authority; — ■ 
to  all  Cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public  Minis- 
ters and  Consuls; — to  all  Cases  of  admirality  and  mari- 
time Jurisdiction ;  to  Controversies  to  which  the  United 
States  shall  be  a  Party; — to  Controversies  between  tAvo 
or  more  States ; — ^between  a  State  and  Citizens  of  an- 
other State; — ^between  Citizens  of  different  States; — be- 
tween Citizens  of  the  same  State  claiming  Lands  under 
Grants  of  different  States,  and  between  a  State,  or  the 
Citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  States,  Citizens,  or  Sub- 
jects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  Ambassadors,  other  public 
Ministers  and  Consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  State  shall 
be  a  Party,  the  supreme  Court  shall  have  original  Juris- 
diction. In  all  the  other  Cases  before  mentioned,  the 
supreme  Court  shall  have  appellate  Jurisdiction,  both 
as  to  Law  and  Fact,  with  such  Exceptions,  and  under 
such  regulations  as  the  Congress  shall  make. 

3.  The  Trial  of  all  Crimes,  except  in  Cases  of  Im- 
peachment, shall  be  by  Jury ;  and  such  Trial  shall  be  held 
in  the  State  where  the  said  Crimes  shall  have  been  com- 
mitted ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  State,  the 
Trial  shall  be  at  such  Place  or  Places  as  the  Congress 
may  by  Law  have  directed. 

(Section  3.)  i.  Treason  against  the  United  States, 
shall  consist  only  in  levying  War  against  them,  or  in  ad- 
hering to  their  Enemies,  giving  them  Aid  and  Comfort. 
No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  Treason  unless  on  the 
Testimony  of  two  Witnesses  to  the  same  overt  Act,  or 
on  Confession  in  open  Court. 


APPENDICES  321 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  declare  the 
Punishment  of  Treason,  but  no  Attainder  of  Treason 
shall  work  Corruption  of  Blood,  or  Forfeiture  except 
during  the  Life  of  the  Person  attained. 

ARTICLE  IV.— (Section  i.)  i.  Full  Faith  and 
Credit  shall  be  given  in  each  State  to  the  public  Acts, 
Records,  and  Judicial  Proceedings  of  every  other  State. 
And  the  Congress  may  by  general  Laws  prescribe  the 
manner  in  which  such  Acts,  Records,  and  Proceedings 
shall  be  proved,  and  the  Effect  thereof. 

(Section  2.)  i.  The  Citizens  of  each  State  shall  be 
entitled  to  all  Privileges  and  Immunities  of  Citizens  in 
the  several  States. 

2.  A  Person  charged  in  any  State  with  Treason,  Fel- 
ony, or  other  Crime,  who  shall  flee  from  Justice,  and  be 
found  in  another  State,  shall  on  Demand  of  the  executive 
Authority  of  the  State  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered 
up  to  be  removed  to  the  State  having  Jurisdiction  of  the 
Crime. 

3.  No  Person  held  to  Service  or  Labour  in  one  State, 
under  the  Laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall, 
in  Consequence  of  any  Law  or  Regidation  therein,  be 
discharged  from  such  Service  or  Labour,  but  shall  be 
delivered  up  on  Claim  of  the  Party  to  whom  such  Ser- 
vice or  Labour  may  be  due. 

(Section  3.)  i.  New  States  may  be  admitted  by  the 
Congress  into  this  Union;  but  no  new  State  shall  be 
formed  or  erected  within  the  Jurisdiction  of  any  other 
State;  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  Junction  of  two 


322  THE  NEW  WORLD 

or  more  States,  or  Parts  of  States,  without  the  Consent 
of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned  as  well  as  of 
the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  Power  to  dispose  of  and 
make  all  needful  Rules  and  Regulations  respecting  the 
Territory  or  other  Property  belonging  to  the  United 
States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution  shall  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  Prejudice  any  Claims  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  any  particular  State. 

(Section  4.)  i.  The  United  States  shall  guarantee 
to  every  State  in  this  Union  a  Republican  Form  of  Gov- 
ernment, and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  Inva- 
sion ;  and  on  Application  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the 
Executive  (when  the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened) 
against  domestic  Violence. 

ARTICLE  V.  I.  The  Congress,  whenever  two- 
thirds  of  both  Houses  shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  pro- 
pose Amendments  to  this  Constitution,  or,  on  the  Appli- 
cation of  the  Legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several 
States,  shall  call  a  Convention  for  proposing  Amend- 
ments, which,  in  either  Case,  shall  be  valid  to  all  Intents 
and  Purposes,  as  Part  of  this  Constitution,  when  ratified 
by  the  Legislatures  of  three-fourths  of  the  several  States 
or  by  Conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the  one 
or  the  other  Mode  of  Ratification  may  be  proposed  by 
the  Congress ;  Provided  that  no  Amendment  which  may 
be  made  prior  to  the  Year  One  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  eight  shall  in  any  Manner  affect  the  first  and  fourth 
Clauses  in  the  Ninth  Section  of  the  first  Article;  and 


APPENDICES  323 

that  no  State,  without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of 
its  equal  Suffrage  in  the  Senate. 

ARTICLE  VI.  I.  All  Debts  contracted  and  Engage- 
ments entered  into,  before  the  Adoption  of  this  Consti- 
tution, shall  be  as  valid  against  the  United  States  under 
this  Constitution,  as  under  the  Confederation. 

2.  This  Constitution,  and  the  Laws  of  the  United 
States  which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof;  and 
all  Treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  under  the 
Authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme 
Law  of  the  Land ;  and  the  Judges  in  every  State  shall  be 
bound  thereby,  any  Thing  in  the  Constitution  or  Laws  of 
any  State  to  the  Contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  men- 
tioned, and  the  Members  of  the  several  State  Legisla- 
tures, and  all  executive  and  judicial  Officers,  both  of 
the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States,  shall  be 
bound  by  Oath  or  Affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitu- 
tion ;  but  no  religious  Test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a 
Qualification  to  any  Office  or  public  Trust  under  the 
United  States. 

ARTICLE  VII.  I.  The  Ratification  of  the  Conven- 
tions of  nine  States,  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  Establish- 
ment of  this  Constitution  between  the  States  so  ratifying 
the  same. 

Done  in  Convention  by  the  Unanimous  Consent  of  the 
States  present  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  September  in  the 
Year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
Eighty-seven  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America  the  Twelfth.     In  Witness  whereof 


324 


THE  NEW  WORLD 


We  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  Names,  Geo.  WASH- 
INGTON— Presidt.     and  Deputy  from  Virginia. 

Attest:    WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


New  Hampshire: 

John  Langdon 

Nicholas  Gilman 
Massa€  husetts : 

Nathaniel  Gorham 

Rufus  King 
Connecticut: 

Wm.  Saml.  Johnson 

Roger  Sherman 
New  York: 

Alexander  Hamilton 
New  Jersey: 

Wil.  Livingston 

David  Brearley 

Wm.  Paterson 

Jona.  Dayton 
Pennsylvania: 

B.  Franklin 

Thomas  Mifflin 

Robt.  Morris 

Geo.  Clymer 

Thos.  Fitz  Simons 
Jared  IngersoU 
James  Wilson 
Gouv.  Morris 


Delcmxcre: 

Geo.  Read 

Gunning  Bedford  Jun 

John  Dickinson 

Richard  Bassett 

Jaco.  Broom 
Maryland: 

James  McHenry 

Dan  of  St.  Thos.  Jenifer 

Danl.  Carroll 
Virginia: 

John  Blair 

James  Madison  Jr. 
North  Carolina: 

Wm.  Blount 

Richd.  Dobbs  Spaight 

Hu.  Williamson 
South  Carolina: 

J.  Rutledge 

Charles  Pinckney 

Charles  Cotesworth 
Pinckney 

Pierce  Butler. 
Georgia: 

William  Few 

Abr.  Baldwin 


APPENDICES  325 

[Articles  in  Addition  to  and  Amendment  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  of  America,  Proposed  by 
Congress  and  Ratified  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several 
States,  Purstutfit  to  the  Fifth  Article  of  the  Constitu- 
tion.'] 

ARTICLE  I.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting 
an  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  ex- 
ercise thereof ;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech,  or  of 
the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assem- 
ble, and  to  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of 
grievances. 

ARTICLE  II.  A  well  regulated  Militia,  being  neces- 
sary to  the  security  of  a  free  State,  the  right  of  the 
people  to  keep  and  bear  Arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

ARTICLE  III.  No  Soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace, 
be  quartered  in  any  house,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Owner,  nor,  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

ARTICLE  IV^.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure) 
in  their  persons,  houses,  papers,  and  effects,  against 
unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  vio- 
lated, and  no  Warrants  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable 
cause,  supported  by  Oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly 
describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or 
things  to  be  seized. 

ARTICLE  V.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer 
for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  infamous  crime,  unless  on  a 
presentment  or  indictment  of  a  Grand  Jury,  except  in 
cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  Mili- 
tia, when  in  actual  service  in  time  of  War  or  public 


326  THE  NEW  WORLD 

danger;  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  for  the  same 
offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb;  nor 
shall  be  compelled  in  any  Criminal  Case  to  be  a  witness 
against  himself,  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty, without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  shall  private  prop- 
erty be  taken  for  public  use,  without  just  compensation. 

ARTICLE  VL  In  all  criminal  prosecutions,  the  ac- 
cused shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  pubHc  trial, 
by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  State  and  district  wherein 
the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall 
have  been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  in- 
formed of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation;  to  be 
confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him ;  to  have  com- 
pulsory process  for  obtaining  Witnesses  in  his  favor, 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  Counsel  for  his  defence. 

ARTICLE  VII.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the 
value  in  controversy  shall  exceed  twenty  dollars,  the 
right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact 
tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any 
Court  of  the  United  States,  than  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  common  law. 

ARTICLE  VIII.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required, 
nor  excessive  fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  pun- 
ishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE  IX.  The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution, 
of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be  construed  to  deny  or  dis- 
parage others  retained  by  the  people. 

ARTICLE  X.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United 
States  by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the 


APPENDICES  327 

States,  are  reserved  to  the  States  respectively,  or  to  the 
people. 

ARTICLE  XL  The  Judicial  power  of  the  United 
States  shall  not  be  construed  to  extend  to  any  suit  in 
law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of 
the  United  States  by  Citizens  of  another  State,  or  by 
Citizens  or  subjects  of  any  Foreign  State. 

ARTICLE  XIL— (Section  i.)  The  Electors  shall 
meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by  ballot  for 
President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least, 
shall  not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  them- 
selves; they  shall  name  in  their  ballots  the  person  voted 
for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots  the  person  voted 
for  as  Vice  President ;  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists 
of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons 
voted  for  as  Vice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes 
for  each,  which  lists  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit  sealed  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United 
States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate; — the 
President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the 
Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  cer- 
tificates and  the  votes  shall  then  be  counted; — The  per- 
son having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  President, 
shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  of  Electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person 
have  such  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having  the 
highest  number  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those 
voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  Presi- 
dent.    But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be 


328  THE  NEW  WORLD 

taken  by  states,  the  representation  from  each  state  hav- 
ing one  vote;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose  shall  consist  of 
a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and 
a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a 
President  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve 
upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  follow- 
ing, then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  President,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  death  or  other  constitutional  disability  of 
the  President.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  as  Vice-President,  shall  be  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent, if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  Electors  appointed,  and  if  no  person 
have  a  majority,  then  from  the  two  highest  num- 
bers on  the  list,  the  Senate  shall  choose  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent; a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  a  majority  of 
the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  But  no 
person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  Presi- 
dent shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. 

ARTICLE  XHL— (Section  7.)  Neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punishment  for  crime 
whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction. 

(Section  2.)  Congress  shall  have  power  to  enforce 
this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XIV.— (Section  i.)  All  persons  born  or 
naturalized  in  the  United  States,  and  subject  to  the  juris- 


APPENDICES  329 

diction  thereof,  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  of 
the  State  wherein  they  reside.  No  State  shall  make  or 
enforce  any  law  which  shall  abridge  the  privileges  or 
immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  nor  shall 
any  State  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,, 
without  due  process  of  law ;  nor  deny  to  any  person 
within  its  jurisdiction  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

(Section  2.)  Representatives  shall  be  apportioned 
among  the  several  States  according  to  their  respective 
numbers,  counting  the  whole  number  of  persons  in  each 
State,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed.  But  when  the  right 
to  vote  at  any  election  for  the  choice  of  electors  for 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  Rep- 
resentatives in  Congress,  the  Executive  and  Judicial  of- 
ficers of  a  State,  or  the  members  of  the  Legislature  there- 
of, is  denied  to  any  of  the  male  inhabitants  of  such  State,. 
being  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  or  in  any  way  abridged,  except  for  participation 
in  rebellion,  or  other  crime,  the  basis  of  representation 
therein  shall  be  reduced  in  the  proportion  which  the 
number  of  such  male  citizens  shall  bear  to  the  whole 
number  of  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age  in  such 
State. 

(Section  3.)  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  or  Repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  or  elector  of  President  and  Vice- 
President,  or  hold  any  office,  civil  or  military,  under 
the  United  States,  or  under  any  State,  who,  having  pre- 
viously taken  an  oath,  as  a  member  of  Congress,  or  as  an 
officer  of  the  United  States,  or  as  a  member  of  any  State- 
legislature,  or  as  an  executive  or  judicial  officer  of  any 


330  THE  NEW  WORLD 

State,  to  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
shall  have  engaged  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  against 
the  same,  or  given  aid  or  comfort  to  the  enemies  thereof. 
But  Congress  may  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  each 
House,  remove  such  disability. 

(Section  4.)  The  validity  of  the  public  debt  of  the 
United  States,  authorized  by  law,  including  debts  in- 
curred for  payment  of  pensions  and  bounties  for  services 
in  suppressing  insurrection  or  rebellion,  shall  not  be 
questioned.  But  neither  the  United  States  nor  any  State 
shall  assume  or  pay  any  debt  or  obligation  incurred  in 
aid  of  insurrection  or  rebellion  against  the  United  States, 
or  any  claim  for  the  loss  or  emancipation  of  any  slave; 
but  all  such  debts,  obligations  and  claims  shall  be  held 
illegal  and  void. 

(Section  5.)  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  en- 
force, by  appropriate  legislation,  the  provisions  of  this 
article. 

ARTICLE  XV.— (Section  i.)  The  right  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  to  vote  shall  not  be  denied  or 
abridged  by  the  United  States  or  by  any  State  on  account 
of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. 

(Section  2.)  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  en- 
force this  article  by  appropriate  legislation. 

ARTICLE  XVI.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
lay  and  collect  taxes  on  incomes  from  whatever  source 
derived,  without  apportionment  among  the  several  States 
and  without  regard  to  any  census  or  enumeration. 

ARTICLE  XVII.— (Section  i.)  The  Senate  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  senators  from 


APPENDICES  331 

each  state,  elected  by  the  people  thereof,  for  six  years; 
and  each  senator  shall  have  one  vote.  The  electors  in 
each  state  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  elec- 
tors of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the  State  Legis- 
lature, 

(Section  2.)  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  represen- 
tation <jf  any  state  in  the  Senate,  the  executive  authority 
of  such  state  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  va- 
cancies :  Provided,  That  the  legislature  of  any  state  may 
empower  the  executive  thereof  to  make  temporary  ap- 
pointments until  the  people  fill  the  vacancies  by  election 
as  the  legislature  may  direct. 

(Section  3.)  This  amendment  shall  not  be  so  con- 
strued as  to  affect  the  election  or  term  of  any  senator 
chosen  before  it  becomes  valid  as  part  of  the  Constitution. 

ARTICLE  XVIIL— (Section  i.)  After  one  year 
from  the  ratification  of  this  article  the  manufacture,  sale 
or  transportation  of  intoxicating  liquors  within,  the  im- 
portation thereof  into,  or  the  exportation  thereof  from 
the  United  States  and  all  territory  subject  to  the  jurisdic- 
tion thereof  for  beverage  purposes  is  hereby  prohibited. 

(Section  2.)  The  Congress  and  the  several  states 
shall  have  concurrent  power  to  enforce  this  article  by 
appropriate  legislation. 

(Section  3.)  This  article  shall  be  inoperative  unless 
it  shall  have  been  ratified  as  an  amendment  to  the  Consti- 
tution by  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states  as  pro- 
vided in  the  Constitution  within  seven  years  from  the 
date  of  the  submission  hereof  to  the  states  by  the  Con- 
gress. 


No.  ...:.8.396. 

^nit<i5  States  0!  ^ms^rica 


DEPARTMENT    OF   STATE 

to  itiltotu  ITicsc  TptS5t\x\s>  5\\cill  cowLH,  ©r??ti«g: 


%n  testimoiiij  lultcveof  /)^ 

Secrclary  0/  S(a/c,  Aaw  hereunlo  caused  (heoeal  oj  the  Depart- 
went  oj  Stale  to  he  afixed  and  my  name  luhseriieJ  by  the  Chiej 
Qerk,  oj  (he  said  Department,  at  the  City  oJ  Washington, 
this  ■Z_>:A-.  day  0/ C^2p..5-S,.£^ \n^a 

__LxD3^?o.-§a^ 

Stcretary  oJ  Sialt, 
Ciitf  Otrl 


332 


APPENDIX  V 
PLATFORM  OF  COMMUNIST  INTERNATIONAL 

The  contradictions  of  the  capitalistic  world  system, 
which  were  concealed  in  its  interior  showed  themselves 
with  enormous  force  in  one  gigantic  explosion — in  the 
great  imperialistic  World  War. 

Capitalism  attempted  to  overcome  its  own  anarchy  by 
organizing  production.  In  the  place  of  numerous  com- 
peting enterprises  were  organized  powerful  unions  of 
capitalists  (syndicates,  artels,  and  trusts).  Bank  capital 
united  with  industrial  capital ;  all  economic  life  came 
under  the  authority  of  this  financial  capitalistic  olig- 
archy, which  on  the  basis  of  this  power  and  through  its 
own  organization  attained  an  all-inclusive  domination. 
In  the  place  of  free  competition  developed  monopoly. 
The  individual  capitalist  became  a  capitalist-member  of 
a  capitalistic  union.  Senseless  anarchy  came  to  be  re- 
placed by  organization. 

But  in  the  same  measure  as  the  anarchy  of  the  cap- 
italistic method  of  production  came  to  be  replaced  by 
capitalistic  organization  in  individual  countries,  contra- 
dictions became  sharper  and  sharper,  as  well  as  the 
struggle  of  competition,  the  anarchy  of  world  economics. 

^  Izvestia,  March  6,   1919. 

333 


334  THE  NEW  WORLD 

The  struggle  between  the  greatest  organized  predatory 
states  inevitably  led  to  the  monstrous  imperialistic  World 
War.  The  appetite  for  profits  drove  world  capital  to 
struggle  for  new  markets,  for  new  spheres  for  its  capital, 
for  new  sources  of  raw  material  and  for  the  cheap  labor 
of  colonial  slaves.  The  imperialistic  states  which  divide 
the  whole  world  among  themselves,  which  converted 
many  millions  of  African,  Asian,  Australian,  and  Amer- 
ican proletarians  and  peasants  into  mere  working  cattle, 
were  obliged  sooner  or  later  to  reveal,  in  this  gigantic 
conflict,  the  actual  anarchical  character  of  capital.  Thus 
came  the  greatest  of  crimes — the  predatory  World  War. 

Capitalism  tried  to  overcome  its  own  social  structure 
so  full  of  contradictions.  Bourgeois  society  is  a  class 
society.  But  capital  of  the  great  "civilized"  countries 
wished  to  suppress  social  contradictions.  At  the  expense 
of  colonial  peoples  they  had  robbed,  capital  bribed 
its  own  hired  slaves  and  tried  to  create  a  community  of 
interests  between  the  exploiters  and  the  exploited,  the 
interests  that  were  directed  against  the  oppressed  colo- 
nies, the  colonial  peoples,  yellow,  black,  and  red.  It  en- 
chained the  European  and  American  working  class  to 
the  imperialistic  "fatherland." 

But  this  same  method  of  constant  bribing,  by  which 
one  tries  to  develop  the  patriotism  of  the  working  class 
and  its  spiritual  enslavement,  as  a  result  of  the  war  was 
converted  into  its  very  opposite.  Physical  exhaustion, 
the  complete  enslavement  of  the  proletariat-monstrous 
oppression,  impoverishment  and  degradation,  world- 
hunger — these  were  the  last  prices  that  had  to  be  paid 


APPENDICES  335 

for  civil  peace.  It  (civil  peace)  was  broken.  The  im- 
perialistic war  was  changed  to  civil  war. 

The  new  epoch  has  been  born.  It  is  the  epoch  of  the 
dissolution  of  capitalism,  of  its  internal  disintegration. 
It  is  the  epoch  of  the  communist  revolution  of  the  pro- 
letariat. 

The  imperialist  system  is  collapsing.  Ferment  in  the 
colonies,  ferment  among  the  small  nationalities,  till  now 
not  independent,  the  uprising  of  the  proletariat,  victo- 
rious proletarian  revolution  in  several  countries,  the  dis- 
integration of  imperialistic  armies,  the  complete  inability 
of  the  ruling  class  to  direct  further  the  destiny  of  the 
people — this  is  the  picture  of  the  present  situation  in 
the  whole  world. 

Humanity,  whose  culture  has  been  subject  to  disin- 
tegration, is  now  threatened  by  the  danger  of  complete 
destruction.  There  is  only  one  force  capable  of  saving 
it  and  this  force  is  the  proletariat.  There  is  no  longer 
left  the  old  capitalist  "order,"  and  it  can  no  longer  exist. 
The  final  result  of  the  existence  of  the  capitalistic  sys- 
tem of  production  is  chaos,  and  this  chaos  can  be  over- 
come only  by  that  large  producing  class — the  working 
class.  The  latter  must  establish  actual  order — a  com- 
munistic order.  It  must  destroy  the  rule  of  capital,  make 
wars  impossible,  wipe  out  frontiers  between  states,  re- 
make the  whole  world  into  a  community  which  is  work- 
ing for  itself,  realize  freedom  and  the  brotherhood  of 
peoples. 

In  the  meanwhile,  world  capital  is  preparing  for  the 
last  battle.    Under  the  cover  of  the  "League  of  Nations" 


336  THE  NEW  WORLD 

and  ^  of  pacifistic  chattering  it  is  putting  forth  its  last 
efforts  to  cement  together  the  parts  of  the  capitaHstic 
system  that  are  falhng  apart  and  it  will  use  all  its  force 
against  proletarian  revolution  that  is  beginning  to  flame 
up  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  be  restrained. 

To  this  new,  grandiose  conspiracy  of  the  imperialistic 
classes  the  proletariat  must  answer  by  acquiring  political 
power,  by  directing  this  power  against  its  own  enemy 
and  using  it  as  a  lever  for  the  economic  reorganization  of 
society.  The  final  victory  of  the  world  proletariat  will 
mean  the  beginning  of  the  real  history  of  liberated  man- 
kind. 

CONQUEST   OF   POLITICAL   POWER 

The  conquest  of  political  power  by  the  proletariat 
means  the  destruction  of  the  political  power  of  the  bour- 
geoisie. The  most  powerful  weapon  of  authority  in  the 
hands  of  the  bourgeoisie  is  the  bourgeois  apparatus  of 
state,  with  its  capitalistic  army  which  is  under  the  com- 
mand of  bourgeoisie — junker  officers,  with  its  police  and 
secret  police,  its  prison-wardens  and  judges,  its  preach- 
ers, civil  officials  and  such.  The  conquest  of  political 
power  cannot  be  limited  simply  to  a  change  in  the  per- 
sonnel of  the  government  departments,  but  must  mean 
the  destruction  of  this  parasitic  state  apparatus,  and  the 
concentration  in  one's  hand  of  a  real  force,  the  disarm- 
ing of  the  bourgeoisie,  of  counter-revolutionary  officers 
and  of  the  white-guard  and  the  arming  of  the  proletariat, 
of  the  revolutionary  soldiers  and  of  the  red-guards  of 


APPENDICES  337 

workmen ;  the  removal  of  all  bourgeois  Judges  and  the 
organization  of  a  proletarian  court  of  law;  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  domination  of  reactionary  officials  and  the 
establishment  of  new  proletarian  organs  of  government. 
The  victory  of  the  proletariat  is  guaranteed  by  the  dis- 
organizing of  hostile  authority,  and  it  must  mean  the 
destruction  of  the  bourgeoisie,  and  the  building  up  of  the 
proletarian,  apparatus  of  state.  Only  after  the  proleta- 
riat shall  have  triumphed  by  definitely  breaking  the  oppo- 
sition of  the  bourgeoisie  will  the  proletariat  be  able  in  a 
useful  manner  to  force  its  former  opponents  to  serve 
it,  gradually  bringing  them,  under  its  own  control,  to  the 
work  of  communistic  construction. 

DEMOCRACY  AND  LEADERSHIP 

Just  as  every  state  so  the  proletarian  state  represents 
an  apparatus  of  compulsion,  and  this  apparatus  of  com- 
pulsion is  now  directed  against  the  enemy  of  the  work- 
ing class.  Its  significance  consists  in  this,  that  it  is  to 
break  and  make  impossible  the  resistance  of  the  exploit- 
ers, who  will  use  in  this  struggle  all  means  to  suppress 
the  revolution  in  streams  of  blood.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  which  will  place  this 
class  officially  in  a  position  of  the  dominant  class  in  so- 
ciety, represents  a  transition  state.  In  measure  as  the 
opposition  of  the  bourgeoisie  is  broken,  the  latter  will 
be  expropriated  and  gradually  converted  into  a  working 
class  of  society,  and  the  dictatorship  will  disappear,  and 
the  state  and  the  dividing  of  society  into  classes  will 
die  out. 


338  THE  NEW  WORLD 

So-called  democracy,  that  is,  bourgeois  democracy,  is 
nothing  other  than  a  concealed  dictatorship  of  the  bour- 
geoisie. The  famous  general  "will  of  the  people"  is  the 
same  kind  of  fiction  as  is  the  united  people.  In  fact 
there  exist  classes  with  opposed  tendencies  exclusive  of 
one  another.  And  as  the  bourgeoisie  is  an  insignificant 
minority,  so  it  uses  the  fiction,  this  fictitious  popular  will, 
in  order,  under  the  cover  of  this  broad  phrase,  to 
strengthen  its  domination  over  the  working  class  and 
impose  on  the  latter  the  will  of  its  own  class.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  proletariat,  which  represents  the  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  population,  will  quite  openly 
use  the  class  strength  of  its  mass  organizations,  of  its 
Soviets,  in  order  to  abolish  the  privileges  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, and  guarantee  the  passing  to  a  non-class  com- 
munistic society. 

The  essence  of  bourgeois  democracy  consists  in  a 
purely  declaratory  formal  recognition  of  rights  and  liber- 
ties that  are  not  accessible  for  the  proletariat  and  the 
half-proletarian  elements  because  the  latter  have  not  the 
material  means,  while  the  bourgeoisie  has  the  full  pos- 
sibility to  use  its  material  means,  its  press,  and  its  or- 
ganizations for  lies  and  to  deceive  the  people.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  essence  of  the  Soviet  system,  of  this  new 
type  of  governmental  authority,  consists  in  this  that 
under  this  system  the  proletariat  is  given  the  possibility 
in  fact  to  secure  for  itself  its  rights  and  liberty.  The 
Soviet  authority  will  give  to  the  people  the  best  palaces, 
houses,  printing  shops,  stores  of  paper,  etc.,  for  its  press, 


APPENDICES  339 

for  its  meetings,  and  its  clubs.  Only  then  will  the  prole- 
tarian democracy  be  really  possible. 

Bourgeois  democracy  with  its  parliamentary  system 
allows  to  the  masses  participation  in  the  government  of 
the  state  only  in  words.  In  actual  fact  the  masses  and 
their  organizations  are  completely  shut  off  from  actual 
authority  and  the  actual  government  of  the  country. 
Under  the  system  of  Soviets  mass  organizations  govern, 
and,  through  the  latter,  the  masses  themselves,  since  the 
Soviets  bring  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  work- 
men into  the  administration  of  the  state,  and  only  thus 
is  the  entire  working  people  gradually  drawn  into  the 
actual  work  of  governing  the  state.  The  Soviet  system 
thus  rests  on  mass  organization  of  the  proletariat  in  the 
form  of  these  Soviets  of  revolutionary  trade  unions,  co- 
operative societies,  etc. 

Bourgeois  democracy  and  the  parliamentary  system, 
as  a  result  of  the  separation  of  executive  and  legislative 
authority  and  the  absence  of  the  right  to  recall  represen- 
tatives, make  broader  the  gulf  between  the  masses  and 
the  state.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Soviet  system,  with  its 
right  of  recall,  by  uniting  the  executive  and  legislative 
powers,  and  as  a  result  of  the  ability  of  the  Soviet  to  be 
functioning  collegiate  institutions,  establishes  a  close 
bond  between  the  masses  and  the  organs  of  government. 
This  bond  is  more  easily  maintained  because  under  the 
system  of  Soviets,  elections  take  place  not  according  to 
artificially  created  districts  but  correspond  with  group- 
ings resulting  from  the  productive  process. 

Thus  the  Soviet  system  gfuarantees  the  possibility  of 


340  THE  NEW  WORLD 

an  actual  proletarian  democracy,  a  democracy  for  the 
proletariat,  and  within  the  proletariat,  and  a  democracy 
directed  against  the  bourgeoisie.  Under  this  system  the 
industrial  proletariat  is  guaranteed  a  privileged  position 
as  the  leading,  better  organized  and  politically  more  ma- 
tured class,  under  the  hegemony  of  which  the  hal {-pro- 
letarian elements  and  the  peasant-poor  elements  of  the 
village  will  be  able  gradually  to  raise  themselves.  These 
temporary  privileges  of  the  industrial  proletariat  must  be 
used  in  order  to  wrest  the  non-propertied  petty  bourgeois 
masses  of  the  village  from  under  the  influence  of  the 
village  peasant  bourgeoisie,  to  organize  them  and  bring 
them  as  collaborators  into  the  work  of  communistic  con- 
struction. 

THE  EXPROPRIATION  OF  THE  BOURGEOISIE 
AND   THE   SOCIALIZATION   OF   PRODUCTION 

The  disintegration  of  the  capitalistic  system  and  of 
capitalistic  labor  discipline  makes  it  impossible  under  the 
present  inter-class  relations  to  reestablish  production  on 
the  former  basis.  The  struggle  of  workmen  for  increase 
of  wages,  even  when  successful,  does  not  lead  to  the 
expected  raising  of  the  standard  of  living  because  the 
increase  of  prices  on  all  productions  of  consumption  in- 
evitably neutralizes  the  success.  The  energetic  struggle 
of  the  workmen  for  increase  of  wages  in  those  -countries 
where  the  situation  is  clearly  hopeless,  because  of  the 
elemental  bitterness  and  the  tendency  to  convert  the 
strike  into  a  world  strike,  makes  impossible  the  further 


APPENDICES  341 

development  of  capitalistic  production.  Improvement  of 
conditions  of  workmen  can  be  attained  only  when  the 
bourgeoisie  (has  been  expropriated — this  added  by  trans- 
lator as  there  is  evidently  an  omission  here)  and  the  pro- 
letariat itself  takes  possession  of  production.  In  order 
to  raise  the  productive  power  of  economic  life,  in  order 
to  break  as  quickly  as  possible  the  resistance  of  the  bour- 
geoisie which  is  prolonging  the  agony  of  the  old  form  of 
society  and  thus  creating  the  danger  of  the  complete  dis- 
ruption of  economic  life,  the  proletarian  dictatorship 
must  carry  out  the  expropriation  of  the  large  bourgeoisie 
and  nobility,  and  make  the  means  of  production  and 
transportation  the  pubHc  property  of  the  proletarian 
state. 

Communism  is  being  born  now  in  the  ruins  of  the  cap- 
italistic order;  history  will  not  give  mankind  any  other 
issue  from  the  situation.  The  opportunists  who  put  for- 
ward the  Utopian  demands  for  the  regeneration  of  the 
capitalistic  system  of  economy  in  order  to  postpone  so-' 
cialization,  are  simply  dragging  out  the  solution  of  the 
crisis  and  thus  creating  the  direct  menace  of  complete 
ruin  while  the  communistic  revolution  is  the  best  and 
actually  possible  means  by  which  the  actual  productive 
force  in  society — the  proletariat — and  with  it  society 
itself,  may  save  themselves. 

Proletarian  dictatorship  does  not  contemplate  any  kind 
of  dividing  up  of  the  means  of  production  and  transpor- 
tation. Quite  the  contrary,  its  task  is  to  bring  about  a 
greater  centralization  of  productive  forces  and  the  sub- 
jection of  all  production  to  a  unified  plan. 


342  THE  NEW  WORLD 

As  the  first  steps  on  the  road  to  the  socialization  of 
the  entire  economic  life  the  following  are  necessary :  The 
socialization  of  the  apparatus  of  the  largest  banks,  which 
now  control  industry ;  the  gaining  possession  of  all  econ- 
omic state-capitalistic  organs  by  transferring  them  to  the 
proletarian  state  governmental  authority ;  the  gaining 
possession  of  all  commercial  enterprises ;  the  socialization 
of  syndicalized  and  "trusted"  branches  of  industry  and 
also  of  those  branches  of  industry  in  which  the  degree  of 
concentration  and  centralization  of  capital  are  such  as  to 
make  socialization  technically  possible;  the  socialization 
of  agricultural  farms  and  their  conversion  into  publicly 
managed  agricultural  enterprises. 

As  for  the  small  enterprises  the  proletariat  must 
gradually  unite  them  taking  into  consideration  their  sizes. 

In  this  connection  one  must  emphasize  particularly 
that  the  small  holders  of  private  property  may  not  be 
expropriated  and  the  small  proprietor  who  did  not  exploit 
the  labors  of  others  may  not  be  subjected  to  any  violent 
measures.  This  group  will  be  drawn  into  the  sphere  of 
socialist  organization  gradually,  by  example  and  by  prac- 
tical experience,  which  will  show  the  advantages  of  the 
new  order,  which  in  turn  will  free  the  small  farmer  and 
the  small  bourgeoisie  from  the  economic  yoke  of  the  rich 
farmer  and  nobility  and  from  the  weight  of  taxes  (par- 
ticularly as  the  result  of  the  repudiation  of  state  loans), 
etc. 

The  task  of  the  proletarian  dictatorship  in  the  fields  of 
economics  may  be  fulfilled  only  to  the  extent  to  which 
the  proletariat  will  be  able  to  create  centralized  organs 


APPENDICES  343 

for  the  administration  of  industry  and  to  realize  work- 
men's administration.  Furthermore,  the  proletariat  will 
be  obliged  to  use  those  of  its  mass  organizations  which 
are  most  closely  associated  with  the  .process  of  pro- 
duction. 

In  the  field  of  distribution,  the  proletarian  dictatorship 
must  bring  about  the  proper  distribution  of  products  as 
a  substitute  for  trading;  one  must  call  attention  to  those 
measures  which  will  have  to  be  adopted  to  this  end :  The 
socialization  of  the  largest  trading  enterprises ;  the  trans- 
fer into  the  hands  of  the  proletariat  of  all  bourgeois- 
public,  and  also  municipal,  organs  of  distribution ;  control 
over  the  largest  cooperative  combinations,  the  organiza- 
tion of  which  will  still  have  enormous  economic  signi- 
ficance through  the  period  of  transition;  the  gradual 
centralization  of  all  these  organs  and  their  gradual  con- 
version into  a  single  whole  for  the  national  distribution 
of  products. 

Both  in  the  field  of  production  and  also  in  that  of  dis- 
tribution all  workers  of  qualified  economic  experience 
and  specialization  must  be  made  use  of,  after  their  oppo- 
sition in  the  field  of  politics  will  have  been  broken,  so 
that  they  will  be  in  a  position  to  serve  the  new  system 
of  production,  instead  of  capital. 

The  proletariat  has  no  intention  to  oppress  the  latter 
(technical  experts  and  specialists)  ;  quite  the  contrary, 
the  proletariat  will  be  the  first  to  give  to  them  the  possi- 
bility of  developing  the  most  energetic  creative  activity. 
The  proletarian  dictatorship  will  replace  the  division  into 
physical  and  intellectual  labor,  which  is  characteristic  of 


344  THE  NEW  WORLX) 

capitalism,  by  a  uniting  of  the  two  and  thus  it  will  bring 
together  labor  and  science. 

I  Together  with  the  expropriation  of  factories,  mines, 
landed  estate,  etc.,  the  proletariat  must  also  put  an  end 
to  the  exploitation  of  the  population  by  capitalistic  house- 
owners,  and  transfer  the  larger  houses  into  the  hands  of 
local  workmen's  Soviets,  and  move  the  workmen  into  the 
apartments  of  the  bourgeoisie,  etc.  In  the  course  of  this 
enormous  change,  the  Soviet  authority  must,  on  the  one 
hand,  create  an  enormous  apparatus  of  administration, 
becoming  more  and  more  centralized,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  must  bring  larger  groups  of  the  working  people 
to  the  immediate  task  of  government. 

THE  ROAD  TO  VICTORY 

The  revolutionary  epoch  demands  of  the  proletariat 
the  application  of  such  methods  of  struggle  as  will  con- 
centrate all  its  energies,  first  of  all  methods  of  mass 
struggle  with  its  logical  conclusions — direct  conflict  in 
open  battle  with  the  bourgeoisie,  governmental  machinery. 
To  this  end  must  be  subordinated  all  other  means,  as, 
for  example,  the  revolutionary  making  use  of  bourgeois 
parliamentary  institutions. 

A  necessary  preliminary  condition  for  such  a  victo- 
rious struggle  is  a  rupture  not  only  with  the  out-and-out 
lackeys  of  capital  and  with  the  executioners  of  the  com- 
munist revolution,  such  as  the  right  Social  Democrats, 
but  also  a  breaking  away  from  the  Center  (followers  of 
Kautsky)  which  abandons  the  proletariat  at  a  critical 
moment  and  flirts  with  its  open  enemies. 


APPENDICES  345 

On  the  other  hand,  one  must  form  an  alliance  with  the 
elements  of  the  revolutionary  workmen's  movement, 
which,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  formerly  they  did  not 
belong  to  the  Socialist  Party,  have  now  become,  in  gen- 
eral and  on  the  whole,  supporters  of  the  proletarian  dicta- 
torship in  the  form  of  Soviets,  as  for  example  certain 
elements  of  syndicalism. 

The  growth  of  the  revolutionary  movement  in  all  coun- 
tries, the  danger  that  this  revolution  will  be  suppressed 
by  a  union  of  capitalistic  states,  attempts  of  traitor- 
socialist  parties  to  unite  (the  forming  of  a  yellow  inter- 
national in  Berne),  in  order  lackey-like  to  serve  Wilson's 
league,  and  finally  the  absolute  necessity  of  coordinating 
the  proletarian  movement — all  this  leads  eventually  to 
the  establishment  of  a  genuinely  revolutionary  and  gen- 
uinely proletarian  Communist  International. 

The  International  that  will  be  able  to  subordinate  so- 
called  national  interests  to  the  interest  of  the  world  revo- 
lution, will,  by  this  very  reason,  realize  mutual  assistance 
between  proletariats  of  various  countries,  for  without 
economic  and  other  forms  of  mutual  support  the  prole- 
tariat will  not  be  able  to  establish  the  new  society.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  opposition  to  the  yellow  socialist  Inter- 
national, the  International  of  the  communist  proletariat 
will  support  the  exploited  peoples  of  colonies  in  their 
struggle  against  imperialism  in  order  to  assist  the  final 
collapse  of  the  system  of  world  imperialism. 

The  criminals  of  capitalism  affirmed  at  the  beginning 
of  the  World  War  that  all  of  them  were  simply  defend- 
ing their  own  countries.     But  soon  German  imperialism 


346  THE  NEW  WORLD 

revealed  its  beast-like  nature  by  a  series  of  bloody  acts 
in  Russia,  the  Ukraine  and  Finland.  Now,  in  their 
turn,  the  powers  of  the  Entente  are  revealing  themselves 
in  the  eyes  even  of  the  most  retrograde  groups  of  the 
population,  for  they  have  turned  out  to  be  the  world- 
robbers  and  the  murderers  of  the  proletariat.  In  agree- 
ment with  the  German  bourgeoisie  and  with  socialist- 
patriots,  with  hypocritical  phrases  about  peace  on  their 
lips,  they  are  trying  to  crush  to  the  ground,  with  the  help 
of  tanks  and  uneducated  barbarian  colonial  troops,  the 
revolution  of  the  European  proletariat.  The  white  terror 
of  the  bourgeois  cannibals  is  cruel  beyond  description. 
The  sacrifices  of  the  working  class  cannot  be  numbered; 
it  has  lost  its  best  fighters,  Liebknecht  and  Luxemburg. 

The  proletariat  must  defend  itself  at  any  cost.  The 
Communist  International  calls  on  the  entire  proletariat 
of  the  world  to  take  part  in  this  last  struggle.  Arms 
against  arms!     Force  against  force! 

Down  with  the  imperialistic  conspiracy  of  capital ! 
Long  live  the  international  republic  of  proletarian 
Soviets. 


APPENDIX  VI 
MANIFESTO  OF  THE  COMMUNIST  INTERNATIONAL' 

Seventy-two  years  ago  the  Communist  Party  pro- 
claimed its  program  to  the  world  in  the  form  of  the 
Manifesto  written  by  the  greatest  teachers  of  the  prole- 
tarian revolution,  Karl  Marx  and  Frederick  Engels. 
Even  at  that  early  time  when  Communism  had  scarcely 
come  into  the  arena  of  conflict,  it  was  hounded  by  the 
lies,  hatred,  and  calumny  of  the  possessing  classes,  who 
rightly  stfspected  in  it  their  mortal  enemy.  During  these 
seven  decades  Communism  has  traveled  a  hard  road  of 
ascent  followed  by  periods  of  sharp  decline;  successes 
but  also  severe  defeats.  In  spite  of  all,  the  development 
at  bottom  went  the  way  forecast  by  the  Manifesto  of  the 
Communist  Party.  The  epoch  of  the  last  decisive  strug- 
gle came  later  than  the  apostles  of  the  social  revolution 
expected  and  wished.     But  it  has  come. 

We  Communists,  representatives  of  the  revolutionary 
proletariat  of  the  different  countries  of  Europe,  America, 
and  Asia,  assembled  in  Soviet  Moscow,  feel  and  consider 
ourselves  followers  h-nd  fulfillers  of  the  cause,  the  pro- 
gram of  which  was  proclaimed  seventy-two  years  ago. 
It  is  our  task  now  to  sum  up  the  practical  revolutionary 
experience  of  the  working  class,  to  cleanse  the  movement 

^Severnya  Kommuna,  March  8,  1919. 

347 


K<, 8395„^ 

liamteCk  States  of  America 


|'.I  tor  xohom  these  ptjcsettts  simll  come,  ©rcetitig: 

ffierttfa  That  <L^^ ■^■^'^zzzi:^-,^^  ^^^Z^  -^  .^'~Zz..^^_ 


|n  tfstimonvj  whereof Cc 

Statlary  of  Stale,  hace  hcrtunlo  cameJ  the  Seat  oj  the  Depart- 
ment of  Slate  to  te  affijej  and  my  name  iubscriied  ty  the  Chief 
Qerk   of  the   saiJ  Departmml,  at   the  Cilu  of   Waihlnfton. 
fc«^ „...I9A;2^. 


Setrelary 


Sctrclcry  ^  Slati. 


Ckl<}  Clak, 


348 


APPENDICES  349 

of  its  treacherous  admixtures  of  opportunism  and  social- 
ist patriotism  and  to  unite  the  efforts  of  all  revolutionary- 
parties  of  the  world  proletariat  and  thus  facilitate  and 
hasten  the  victory  of  the  communist  revolution  in  the 
whole  world.  Now  when  Europe  is  covered  with  ruins 
and  piles  of  smoking  wreckage,  the  greatest  instigators 
are  occupied  with  searchers  for  those  guilty  of  the  war. 
In  their  trail  follow  their  servants :  professors,  members 
of  parliaments,  journalists,  socialists-patriots  and  the 
other  political  souteneurs  of  the  bourgeoisie. 

For  a  long  span  of  years  Socialism  predicted  the  in- 
evitableness  of  the  imperialistic  war;  it  perceived  the  es- 
sential cause  of  this  war  in  the  insatiable  greed  of  the 
possessing  classes  in  both  camps  of  capitalist  nations. 
Two  years  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  responsible 
socialist  leaders  of  all  countries,  at  the  Basle  Congress, 
exposed  imperialism  as  the  instigator  of  the  coming  war 
and  menaced  the  bourgeoisie  with  the  threat  to  bring 
down  on  its  head  a  socialist  revolution,  as  the  retaliation 
of  the  proletariat  for  the  crimes  of  militarism.  Now 
after  the  experience  of  five  years,  after  history  has  ex- 
posed the  predatory  appetities  of  Germany  and  the  no 
less  criminal  acts  of  the  Allies,  the  State  Socialists  of  the 
countries  of  the  Entente  together  with  their  Governments 
continue  to  try  to  unmask  as  the  instigator  of  the  war  the 
overthrown  German  Kaiser.  Further,  the  German  So- 
cialist-patriots who  in  August,  1914,  proclaimed  the  dip- 
lomatic white  book  of  the  Hohenzollern  as  the  holiest 
gospel  of  the  people,  now,  following  the  lead  of  the 
socialists  of  the  Entente,  with  vulgar  servility  accuse  the 


350  THE  NEW  WORLD 

overthrown  Germany  Monarchy,  which  they  serv^ed  so 
slavishly,  as  the  main  instigator  of  the  war.  In  that  way 
they  hope  to  force  people  to  forget  their  own  role  and 
at  the  same  time  gain  the  good  will  of  the  victors.  But 
alongside  the  role  of  the  overthrown  dynasties  of  the 
Romanoffs,  Hohenzollerns,  and  Hapsburgs,  the  capital- 
istic cliques  of  these  countries  and  the  role  of  the  govern- 
ing classes  of  France,  England,  Italy,  and  the  United 
States,  stand  revealed  in  all  their  immeasurable  criminal- 
ities in  the  light  of  the  unfolding  events  and  of  diplo- 
matic disclosures. 

English  diplomacy  to  the  very  outbreak  of  the  war  did 
not  remove  its  secret  visor.  The  Government  of  the 
"City"  was  afraid  that  if  it  categorically  declared  its 
participation  in  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Entente,  the 
government  of  Berlin  would  recede  and  there  would  not 
be  war.  In  London  they  wanted  the  war.  Therefore 
they  behaved  in  such  a  manner  that  in  Berlin  and  Vienna 
they  counted  on  the  neutrality  of  England,  while  in  Paris 
and  St.  Petersburg  they  evidently  counted  on  her  com- 
ing in. 

The  War  which  was  prepared  by  the  course  of  devel- 
opment during  decades  was  unleashed  with  the  direct  and 
conscious  provocation  of  Great  Britain.  The  Govern- 
ment of  the  latter  counted  on  giving  support  to  Russia 
and  France  only  to  such  a  point  as  to  exhaust  Germany 
also — its  mortal  enemy — while  exhausting  them  (Russia 
and  France).  But  the  strength  of  the  German  military 
machine  was  too  threatening  and  required  the  actual  and 
not  an  apparent  intervention  of  England  in  the  war.  The 


APPENDICES  351 

role  of  the  cynical  broker  which  Great  Britain  had  al- 
ways assumed  by  an  old  tradition,  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
United  States.  The  Government  of  Wilson  was  able 
more  easily  to  reconcile  itself  to  the  English  blockade, 
which  cut  off  speculation  by  the  American  Stock  Ex- 
change in  European  blood,  since  the  countries  of  the 
Entente  rewarded  the  American  bourgeoisie  by  gener- 
ous profits  for  the  violation  of  "international  law." 

But  the  enormous  military  superiority  of  Germany  im- 
pelled even  the  Government  of  Washington  to  depart 
from  its  position  of  fictitious  neutrality.  The  United 
States  assumed  with  respect  to  Europe  as  a  whole  that 
very  role  which  England  had  played  in  past  wars,  and 
tried  to  play  in  this  last  war,  with  respect  to  the  continent 
— that  of  weakening  one  camp  with  the  assistance  of  the 
other,  and  of  intervening  in  military  operations  only  in 
order  to  secure  for  self  all  the  advantages  of  the  situa- 
tion. Wilson's  stake  was  not  large,  as  is  the  method  of 
American  lotteries,  but  it  was  the  last  stake  and  thus 
secured  to  him  the  prize. 

The  contradictions  of  the  capitalist  system  became  clear 
to  mankind  in  the  result  of  the  war,  in  the  form  of  actual 
suflfering,  of  hunger,  cold,  epidemic  diseases  and  moral 
collapse.  Thus  the  academic  discussion  within  the  ranks 
of  socialism  on  the  question  of  the  theory  of  impoverish- 
ment and  the  gradual  passing  from  capitalism  to  social- 
ism, is  now  being  finally  decided.  For  decades  statisti- 
cians and  scholars  of  the  theory  of  the  reconciliation  of 
these  contradictions  have  tried  to  collect  from  all  the 
comers  of  the  world  actual  and  fictitious  facts  to  prove 


352  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  increased  well-being  of  separate  groups  and  catego- 
ries of  the  working  class.  The  theory  of  the  impoverish- 
ment of  the  masses  was  considered  to  have  been  buried 
under  the  contemptuous  voice  of  the  eunuchs  of  the 
bourgeois  pulpit  and  the  mandarins  of  the  socialistic  op- 
portunism. At  the  present  moment  this  impoverishment, 
which  is  now  not  only  social  but  psychological  and  bio- 
logical, lies  before  our  eyes  in  all  its  terrible  actuality. 
The  catastrophe  of  the  imperialistic  war  has  swept  aside 
completely  all  the  conquests  of  the  trade  unions  and  of 
parliamentary  struggle,  while  this  struggle  has  outgrown 
in  a  similar  manner  the  internal  tendencies  of  capitalism, 
and  at  the  same  time  all  tl^e  economic  deals  and  parlia- 
mentary compromises,  which  have  been  buried  in  blood 
and  filth. 

Financial  capital  which  threw  mankind  into  the  whirl- 
pool of  war  has  itself  suffered  catastrophic  changes  dur- 
ing the  course  of  this  war.  The  dependence  of  money 
tokens  on  the  material  foundations  of  production  has 
been  completely  destroyed.  More  and  more  losing  their 
significance,  the  means  and  regulators  of  capitalistic  ex- 
change of  goods,  and  paper  money,  have  become  merely 
the  weapon  of  requisitions,  seizure  and,  in  general,  of 
military-economic  oppression.  The  deterioration  of  paper 
now  reflects  the  general  mortal  crisis  of  the  capitalistic 
system  of  exchange  of  commodities.  For  free  competi- 
tion as  the  regulator  of  production  and  distribution  was 
pushed  to  one  side  in  the  main  fields  of  industry  by  the 
system  of  trusts  and  monopolies  already  during  the  de- 
cades preceding  the  war,  so  that  by  the  course  of  the 


APPENDICES  353 

war  the  regulating  and  directing  role  has  been  wrested 
from  the  hands  of  economic  combinations,  and  has  been 
turned  over  directly  to  the  military — state  authorities. 

The  distribution  of  raw  materials,  the  utilization  of 
petroleum  of  Baku  and  Roumanian  fields,  of  the  coal  of 
Donetz,  of  Ukrainian  grain,  the  fate  of  the  German  ship- 
ping and  automobile,  the  guaranteeing  to  starving  Europe 
of  grain  and  meat — all  these  fundamental  questions  of 
the  economic  life  of  the  world  are  being  regulated  not  by 
free  competition  and  not  by  combinations  of  national 
and  international  trusts,  but  by  the  direct  application  of 
military  force  in  the  interest  of  its  further  self-preserva- 
tion. 

If  the  complete  subjection  of  state  authority  to  finan- 
cial capital  brought  mankind  to  the  capitalistic  shambles, 
so,  thanks  to  this  conflict,  financial  capital  has  completely 
militarized  not  only  the  state  but  also  itself,  and  is  now 
no  longer  able  to  fulfill  its  fundamental  economic  func- 
tions other  than  by  means  of  iron  and  blood. 

The  opportunists  who  before  the  war  appealed  to  the 
workmen  to  be  moderate  in  the  name  of  a  gradual  tran- 
sition to  socialism,  who  during  the  war  demanded  class 
peace  in  the  name  of  unity  for  the  cause  of  national  de- 
fense— are  once  more  demanding  of  the  proletariat  self- 
abnegation,  this  time  in  order  to  overcome  the  terrible 
consequences  of  the  war.  If  this  preaching  would  be 
accepted  by  the  working  masses,  then  imperialistic  devel- 
opment would  be  reestablished  on  the  bones  of  several 
generations,  in  new  and  even  more  terrible  forms,  with 


354  THE  NEW  WORLD 

the  new  perspective  of  an  inevitable  world  war.  Fortu- 
nately for  mankind  this  is  impossible. 

The  absorption  by  the  state  of  economic  life,  against 
which  capitalistic  liberalism  protested  with  such  force, 
has  now  become  an  accomplished  fact.  There  can  be  no 
return,  either  to  free  competition  or  to  the  rule  of  trusts, 
syndicates,  and  other  economic  monsters.  The  question 
now  is  who  will  be  the  mainstay  of  production  that 
has  come  under  the  control  of  the  state :  An  imperialistic 
state  or  a  state  of  the  victorious  proletariat.  In  other 
words,  will  all  toiling  mankind  become  the  serfs  of  a  vic- 
torious world-clique  which  under  the  name  of  "League 
of  Nations,"  with  the  assistance  of  "international  army," 
"international  navy,"  will  suppress  some,  feed  others, 
and  everywhere  impose  chains  on  the  proletariat,  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  maintaining  its  own  rule?  Or  will  the 
working  class  of  Europe  and  of  the  progressive  coun- 
tries of  other  parts  of  the  world  itself  .take  possession 
of  the  disrupted  and  disorganized  economic  situation,  in 
order  to  guarantee  its  rehabilitation  on  socialist  prin- 
ciples. 

The  epoch  of  crisis  through  which  the  world  is  passing 
can  be  brought  to  a  close  only  by  the  measures  adopted 
under  the  proletarian  dictatorship,  which  does  not  look 
back  to  the  past  and  does  not  take  into  account  either 
inherited  privileges  or  rights  of  property,  but  does  what 
is  required  to  save  the  starving  masses,  mobilizes  to  this 
end  all  means  and  force,  introduces  universal  labor  ser- 
vice, establishes  a  regime  of  labor  discipline,  in  order 
thus,  during  the  course  of  several  years,  not  only  to 


APPENDICES  355 

heal  the  gaping  wounds  inflicted  by  the  war  but  also 
to  raise  mankind  to  a  new  height  until  now  unknown. 
The  national  state  which  gave  powerful  impulse  to 
imperialistic  development  became  too  crowded  for  the 
development  of  the  productive  forces.  The  position  of 
the  small  states  became  all  the  more  difficult,  distributed 
as  they  were  among  the  large  powers  of  Europe  and  all 
other  parts  of  the  world.  These  small  states  which  came 
into  existence  at  various  times,  as  fragments  of  larger 
states,  as  small  change  used  to  pay  for  certain  services, 
as  strategic  buffer  states,  have  their  dynasties,  their  rul- 
ing cliques  and  their  imperialistic  pretensions.  Their 
illusory  dependence  until  the  war  was  supported  by  the 
same  thing  that  supported  the  equilibrium  of  Europe: 
that  is  the  constant  antagonism  between  two  imperialistic 
camps.  The  war  destroyed  this  equilibrium.  The  enor- 
mous preponderance  of  Germany  had  forced  the  small 
states  to  seek  safety  in  the  magnanimity  of  German  im- 
perialism. Later  when  Germany  was  beaten,  the  bour- 
geoisie of  the  small  states,  together  with  the  patriotic- 
socialists,  turned  to  welcome  the  triumphant  victory  of 
the  Allies,  and  in  the  hypocritical  fourteen  points  of  the 
Wilsonian  program  began  to  seek  guarantees  for  their 
future  independent  existence.  At  the  same  time  a  num- 
ber of  small  states  grew  out  from  the  Austro-Hunga- 
rian  Monarchy  and  new  states  were  divided  up  from  the 
Czar's  Empire,  and  these  new  states  scarcely  born  are 
already  going  at  each  other's  throats  over  state  frontiers. 
The  Allied  imperialists  in  the  meanwhile  suppress  com- 
binations of  small  states,  old  and  new,  in  order  to  get 


356  THE  NEW  WORLD 

possession  of  them  by  taking  advantage  of  their  mutual 
hatred  and  general  helplessness.  By  suppressing  and 
using  violence  on  small  and  weak  peoples  delivering  them 
to  famine  and  demoralization,  the  Allied  imperialists, 
just  as  did  the  imperialists  of  the  Central  Empires  only 
a  short  time  ago,  constantly  speak  of  the  right  of  the 
nations  to  self-determination,  though  this  right  has  de- 
finitely been  trampled  under  foot  both  in  Europe  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

Small  people  can  be  guaranteed  the  possibility  of  their 
existence  only  by  a  proletarian  revolution,  which  will 
liberate  the  productive  forces  of  all  countries  from  the 
restrictions  of  national  States,  will  unite  people,  will 
guarantee  their  economic  cooperation  on  the  basis  of  a 
common  economic  plan  and  will  make  it  possible  for  the 
weak  and  small  people  to  enjoy  complete  freedom  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  its  own  national  culture 
without  any  detriment  to  the  united  and  centralized  Eu- 
ropean world  economic  system. 

The  late  war  which  was  to  a  considerable  extent  a 
war  because  of  colonies  was  at  the  same  time  a  war  with 
the  aid  of  the  colonies.  An  unprecedented  proportion 
of  the  population  was  drawn  into  the  European  war. 
Why  did  the  Indians,  Negroes,  and  Arabs  fight  on  the 
battle  fields  of  Europe?  For  their  right  to  remain  slaves 
of  England  and  France.  Never  before  was  the  picture  of 
the  disgrace  of  the  imperialistic  state  colonies  so  clear 
and  never  was  the  problem  of  colonial  slavery  raised  in 
such  sharp  relief.  The  result  has  been  a  series  of  open 
uprisings  and  revolutionary  movements  in  all  colonies.  In 


APPENDICES  357 

Europe  itself,  Ireland,  which  did  not  take  part  in  the 
bloody  street  battles,  still  remains  an  enslaved  country. 
In  Madagascar  and  in  other  places  troops  of  a  bourgeois 
republic  have  on  several  occasions  aroused  in  the  course 
of  the  war  uprisings  of  colonial  slaves.  In  India  the 
revolutionary  movement  has  not  ceased  for  a  single  day 
and  recently  has  led  to  unprecedented  workmen's  strikes 
in  Asia,  to  which  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  has 
answered  with  armored  motor  cars. 

Thus  the  colonial  question  has  risen  to  its  full  stature 
not  only  on  the  maps  of  the  diplomatic  congress  in  Paris, 
but  also  in  the  colonies  themselves.  The  program  of  Wil- 
son has  as  its  aim  at  the  very  best  a  change  in  the  firm- 
name  for  colonial  slavery.  The  liberation  of  the  colonies 
is  possible  only  if  it  is  accompanied  by  a  liberation  of  the 
working  class  of  the  metropolis.  The  workmen  and 
peasants  not  only  in  Annam,  Algeria,  and  Senegal,  but 
also  of  Persia  and  Armenia,  will  be  able  to  enjoy  inde- 
pendent existence  only  when  the  workmen  of  England 
and  France  overthrow  Lloyd  George  and  Clemenceau 
and  take  state  authority  into  their  own  hands.  In  the 
more  developed  colonies  the  struggle  not  only  is  in  prog- 
ress at  the  present  moment  under  the  flag  of  liberation, 
but  it  is  also  taking  on  a  more  or  less  clearly  expressed 
social  character.  If  capitalistic  Europe  forcibly  dragged 
the  most  retrograde  into  the  whirlpool  of  capitalist  rela- 
tions, then  the  Europe  of  Socialists  will  come  to  the 
assistance  of  the  freed  colonies  with  its  technique,  its 
organization,    and   its   cultural   influences,   in   order   to 


358  THE  NEW  WORLD 

hasten  their  transition  to  an  orderly  organized  sociaHstic 
economic  system. 

Colonial  slaves  of  Africa  and  Asia !  The  hour  of  the 
proletarian  dictatorship  will  strike  also  for  you  as  the 
hour  of  your  liberation. 

The  whole  bourgeois  world  accuses  the  Communist 
of  destroying  liberties  and  political  democracy.  This  is 
not  true.  On  coming  into  power  the  proletariat  simply 
shows  how  absolutely  impossible  it  is  to  apply  the  meth- 
ods of  bourgeois  democracy,  and  so  creates  the  conditions 
and  forms  of  a  new  and  superior  democracy  of  the 
worker.  The  whole  course  of  capitalistic  development, 
particularly  in  the  last  period  of  imperialism,  under- 
mined political  democracy,  not  only  by  dividing  the  camp 
into  two  irreconcilably  hostile  classes,  but  also  by  con- 
demning the  numerically  large  petty-bourgeois  and 
workmen-proletarian  classes  to  economic  benumbing,  and 
also  the  disinherited  lower  ranks  of  the  proletariat  itself. 

The  working  class  of  all  countries  in  its  historic  devel- 
opment has  taken  advantage  of  the  regime  of  political 
democracy  in  order  to  organize  against  capital.  The 
same  thing  will  take  place  in  those  countries  where  the 
conditions  for  a  working  class  revolution  have  not  ma- 
tured. But  the  broad  intermediary  masses,  not  only  in 
the  villages  but  also  in  the  cities,  are  held  back  by  capital- 
ism, falling  behind  by  whole  epochs  in  respect  to  historic 
development.  The  peasants  of  Bavaria  and  Baden  are 
still  strongly  attached  to  their  village  belfry.  The  small 
French  wine-grower,  who  has  been  ruined  by  the  large- 
scale  capitalistic  adulterations  of  wine,  the  small  Amer- 


APPENDICES  359 

ican  farmer  who  has  been  robbed  and  deceived  by  the 
banker — all  of  these  people  who  have  been  shoved  aside 
by  capitalism,  have  been  called  into  the  administration  of 
the  state  under  the  regime  of  political  democracy.  But 
in  reality  in  all  other  questions,  that  determine  the  fate 
of  peoples,  the  financial  oligarchy  puts  through  its  own 
decisions  behind  the  wall  of  parliamentary  democracy. 
This  was  true  particularly  in  questions  of  the  war,  and 
this  is  what  is  taking  place  now  in  questions  of  peace. 

To  demand  of  the  proletariat  that  in  this  last  struggle, 
not  for  life  but  to  death,  with  capital,  it  should  loyally 
observe  the  demands  of  political  democracy,  is  the  same 
as  to  demand  of  a  man  who  is  defending  his  life  and 
existence  from  highway  robbers  that  he  should  observe 
the  scientific  and  well-guarded  rules  of  the  French  sys- 
tem of  boxing,  which  rules  have  been  made  by  his  enemy 
and  are  not  observed  by  the  latter. 

When  the  principles  of  destruction  govern,  then  the 
proletariat  is  obliged  to  create  its  own  apparatus,  which 
will  serve  first  of  all  to  protect  the  internal  bonds  of  the 
working  class,  guarantee  the  possibility  of  its  revolution- 
ary intervention  in  the  further  development  of  humanity. 
The  old  parties,  the  old  organization  of  trade  unions, 
have  proved,  in  the  persons  of  their  directing  leaders, 
incapable  of  deciding  or  even  understanding  the  prob- 
lems which  the  new  epoch  has  raised.  The  proletariat 
has  created  a  new  type  of  organization  which  stretches 
out  wide  over  the  whole  working  mass,  independent  of 
trade  or  of  the  level  of  political  development  attained. 
It  is  a  flexible  apparatus  which  can  be  constantly  re- 


36o  THE  NEW  WOFLD 

newed,  developed,  and  which  can  bring  within  its  sphere 
constantly  new  forces,  and  open  its  doors  for'the  proleta- 
riat and  for  the  toiling  classes  of  city  and  village.  This 
organization  is  the  self-government  of  the  working  class 
and  represents  the  most  powerful  conquest  and  weapon 
of  the  proletariat  in  our  present  epoch. 

In  all  countries  where  the  toiling  masses  live  a  con- 
scious life,  Soviets  of  Workmen's,  Soldiers'  and  Pea- 
sants' Deputies  are  being  established  and  will  be  estab- 
lished. The  most  important  task  at  the  present  moment 
of  the  conscious  and  honorable  workmen  of  all  countries 
is  to  strengthen  the  Soviets,  to  increase  their  authority 
and  to  imitate  the  governmental  apparatus  of  Russia. 
By  means  of  Soviets  the  working  class  is  able  to  save 
itself  from  the  disintegration  which  is  developing  in  its 
midst  as  the  result  of  the  infernal  anguish  of  war, 
hunger,  violence  produced  by  the  propertied  class  and 
the  treason  of  the  high  authorities.  By  means  of  Soviets 
the  workmen  class  can  more  surely  and  easily  come  into 
power  in  all  those  countries  where  Soviets  rally  around 
themselves  the  majority  of  the  toilers.  By  means  of 
Soviets  the  working  class  will  direct  all  branches  of  the 
economic  and  cultural  life  of  the  country,  just  as  this  is 
taking  place  at  the  present  moment  in  Russia. 

The  collapse  of  the  imperialistic  state,  from  the  Czarist 
to  the  most  democratic  inclusive,  goes  on  simultaneously 
with  the  collapse  of  the  imperialistic  military  system. 
The  armies  of  many  millions  mobilized  by  the  imperial- 
ists could  be  kept  under  only  so  long  as  the  proletariat 
submitted  to  the  yoke  of  the  bourgeoisie.     The  break- 


APPENDICES  35i 

down  of  national  unity  means  the  inevitable  disintegra- 
tion of  the  army.  This  took  place  first  in  Russia,  and 
then  in  Germany,  and  in  Austria.  The  same  also  is  to 
be  expected  in  other  imperialist  countries.  The  uprising 
of  the  peasant  against  the  landlord,  of  the  workmen 
against  the  capitalist,  of  both  against  the  monarchic  bu- 
reaucracy inevitably  leads  to  the  uprising  of  soldiers 
against  officers  and  in  the  next  step  to  the  sharp  division 
between  the  proletarian  and  bourgeois  elements  within 
the  army.  The  imperialistic  war  which  pitted  one  nation 
against  the  other  has  passed,  and  is  passing,  into  civil 
war  which  pits  class  against  class. 

The  outcry  of  the  bourgeois  world  against  civil  war 
and  "Red"  terror  is  the  most  colossal  hypocrisy  which 
the  history  of  political  struggle  has  known.  There  would 
not  be  civil  war  if  cliques  of  exploiters,  who  had  brought 
humanity  to  the  edge  of  ruin,  would  not  oppose  every 
step  forward  of  the  toilers,  would  not  organize  conspir- 
acies and  murders  and  would  not  call  in  armed  assistance 
from  outside,  in  order  to  maintain  or  reestablish  their 
predatory  privileges.  Civil  war  is  forced  on  the  working 
class  by  the  latter's  mortal  enemies.  The  working  class 
must  answer  blow  for  blow,  unless  it  renounces  itself 
and  its  own  future.  Never  artificially  provoking  civil 
war,  a  Communist  Party  strives  to  shorten  its  duration  as 
much  as  possible,  to  reduce  the  number  of  victims  and 
above  all  to  guarantee  victory  to  the  proletariat.  This 
makes  necessary  the  simultaneous  disarming  of  the  bour- 
geoisie, the  arming  of  workmen,  and  the  creation  of  a 
Communist  army  to  defend  the  authority  of  the  proleta- 


362  THE  NEW  WORLD 

riat  and  the  inviolability  of  its  socialist  structure.  SucH 
is  the  "Red"  Army  of  Soviet  Russia,  which  sprang  up 
and  exists  as  the  bulwark  of  the  conquest  of  the  working 
class  against  all  attacks  from  within  or  without.  The 
Soviet  authority  is  inseparable  from  the  Soviet  state. 

Recognizing  the  world  character  of  their  mission,  the 
enlightened  workmen  from  the  very  first  stages  of  the 
socialist  movement  worked  for  its  international  union. 
The  foundation  stone  for  the  latter  was  laid  in  1864  in 
London,  in  the  First  International.  The  Franco-Prus- 
sian War,  as  a  result  of  which  sprang  up  the  Germany 
of  the  Hohenzollems,  destroyed  the  First  International, 
though  at  the  same  time  it  gave  rise  to  the  development 
of  national  workmen's  parties.  As  early  as  1889  these 
parties  united  at  the  congress  in  Paris  and  created  the 
Second  International.  However,  the  center  of  gravity 
of  the  workmen's  movement  lay  then  in  the  field  of 
national  parliamentary  activity.  The  decades  of  organi- 
zation and  reform  work  created  a  whole  generation  of 
leaders,  the  majority  of  whom  in  words  organized  the 
program  of  social  revolution,  but  in  actual  practice  re- 
jected it  and  became  lost  in  reformism.  The  opportunis- 
tic character  of  the  leading  parties  of  the  Second  Inter- 
national was  concealed  to  the  very  last  moment  and  led 
to  the  greatest  collapse  in  the  history  of  the  world  at  a 
very  moment  when  revolutionary  methods  of  struggle 
were  required  of  parties  of  the  working  class.  If  the 
War  of  1870  dealt  a  blow  to  the  First  International,  by 
showing  that  there  was  no  consolidated  force  of  masses 
behind  its  social  revolutionary  programs,  in  the  same 


APPENDICES  363 

way  the  war  of  1914  killed  the  Second  International 
when  it  showed  that  behind  the  powerful  organization  of 
workmen  stood  parties  who  were  being  converted  into 
submissive  organs  of  the  bourgeois  state.  What  is  said 
here  refers  not  only  to  the  Socialists-Patriots  who  have 
now  clearly  and  openly  gone  over  to  the  camp  of  the 
bourgeoisie  and  have  become  the  latter's  favorite  confi- 
dential delegates,  mere  wooden  people  and  the  most  re- 
liable executioners  of  the  working  class,  but  also  to  the 
hazy  irresolute  tendency  of  the  Center  which  tries  to 
reestablish  the  Second  International,  i,  e.,  the  narrowest 
opportunism  and  revolutionary  impotence  of  its  directing 
leaders.  The  Independent  Party  in  Germany,  the  Ma- 
jority Sociahst  Party  of  France,  the  group  of  Mensheviki 
of  Russia,  the  Independent  Labor  Party  of  England  and 
other  similar  groups  in  actual  fact  are  trying  to  establish 
themselves  in  the  place  which  was  occupied  before  the 
war  by  the  old  official  parties  of  the  Second  International, 
coming  forward  as  before  only  with  ideas  of  compromise 
and  agreement,  paralyzing  in  every  way  the  energy  of  the 
proletariat,  dragging  out  the  crisis,  and  increasing  the 
misery  of  Europe. 

Brushing  aside  the  half-heartedness,  lies,  and  corrup- 
tion of  the  obsolete  official  socialist  parties  we,  Commu- 
nists, uniting  in  the  Third  International  consider  our- 
selves to  be  the  direct  successors  of  the  heroic  efforts  and 
martyrdom  of  a  long  series  of  revolutionary  generations, 
from  Bebel  to  Carl  Liebknecht  and  Rosa  Luxemburg. 
Just  as  the  First  International  indicated  the  road  of 
future   development,   and  as   the   Second   International 


364  THE  NEW  WORLD 

gathered  together  and  organized  millions  of  proletarians, 
so  the  Third  International  is  the  International  of  open 
mass  action  of  revolutionary  realization.  Socialist  criti- 
cism has  sufficiently  stigmatized  the  bourgeois  world 
order.  (This  last  sentence  taken  from  another  transla- 
tion as  evidently  omitted  by  printer  in  text  used  for  this 
translation.)  The  aim  of  the  International  Communist 
Party  is  to  overthrow  it,  and  to  raise  in  its  place  the 
structure  of  the  socialist  order.  We  call  on  all  workmen 
and  workwomen  of  all  countries  to  unite  under  the  Com- 
munist flag,  which  is  the  flag  of  the  first  great  victories. 

Proletarians  of  all  countries,  in  the  struggle  against 
imperialist  barbarism,  against  monarchies,  against  priv- 
ileged classes,  against  the  bourgeois  state  and  bourgeois 
property  (text  used  here  has  misprint,  but  elsewhere 
word  is  "property"),  and  against  all  kinds  and  form  of 
class  or  national  oppression — unite. 

Under  the  flag  of  Workmen's  Soviets,  of  the  revolu- 
tionary struggle  for  power  and  of  the  dictatorship  of  the 
proletariat,  under  the  flag  of  the  Third  International, 
proletarians  of  all  countries,  unite! 

(1) 


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